Salazar Institute for Performing Arts- ON HOLD INDEFINITELY
by Nova Porter
Summary: "Congratulations! You have been approved for your domestic exchange program between Godric University and Salazar Institute for Performing Arts!" An AU Harry Potter FanFic with Dramione, OCs, romance, humor, music, and just the right amount of fluffy lemons. Rated M for language throughout and sexual content in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been so long since I've posted something, and I feel terrible about it. Grad school got really real, really fast. But it's over now; the degree has been obtained *party!* So here's the first chapter of the story that has been my brain child for easily four or five months. The story as a whole has changed so much, and even this chapter has gone through so many edits, that I'm swallowing my anxiety and posting it and hoping for the best. This story is completely AU with sprinkles of the world we all know and love. The HP characters aren't mine, but I'm continuing the trend of create my own characters. Your comments are so helpful in my writing so please please please review. So here we go...Chapter 1!**

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 _Ms. Hermione Granger,_

 _Congratulations! You have been approved for your domestic exchange program between Godric University and Salazar Institute for Performing Arts! As you know, this yearlong exchange program will count toward your senior independent study requirement. You will be continuing your studies in vocal performance at the Salazar Institute for Performing Arts for the 2015-2016 academic school year. As part of the exchange, you will be required to maintain a portfolio of your work to be submitted to your supervisor, Dr. McGonagall, at the end of both semesters. You will also be required to perform at their year-end showcase as your senior recital; upon completion, you will have the necessary credits to graduate with the class of 2016._

 _Below you will find your class schedule and living accommodations for the upcoming year; please check in with the president of SIPA, Dr. Lucius Malfoy, upon your arrival to receive your keys and other necessities._

 _Signed,_

 _Dr. A. Brian Dumbledore_

 _President, Godric University_

On the one hand, Hermione was elated. Salazar Institute for Performing Arts- SIPA for short- was one of the top schools in the world for vocal performances with many of its students going on to become world-renowned performers. The small, posh institution was known to accept only the best of the best, so it was truly an honor to be accepted for the exchange program. The school did have a reputation of being quite pretentious, filled with trust-fund children with a disgusting sense of entitlement (so they say, of course…), and a small part of Hermione was worried about being the scholarship student of dentists who worked a part time job and still had to take out a loan; the large majority of her, though, didn't give a damn and was looking forward to the upcoming year.

For now, though, the letter from Dr. Dumbledore would remain in her backpack and she would focus on the task at hand of her part-time bartending job. Hermione picked up the job a year and a half ago at Jukebox, the small karaoke speakeasy, and she became a crowd favorite within a few months. Her manager, Denise, was not only impressed with her ability to pick up training skills exceptionally quickly but her welcoming personality that kept patrons, many of whom where her fellow Godric classmates, coming back. The fact that she had an amazing voice and sometimes graced the mic with her gift might have helped in her popularity. It was near closing and last call had already been made, so Hermione was starting the clean up process behind the bar. Her best friends and roommates Harry Potter and Ron Weasely were perched on their usual stools at the bar with beers in their hand.

"Will you at least still be working year while you're at your hoity-toity new school?" Ron asked, long limbs stretched under him and the fringes of his bright red hair peeking underneath a grey beanie.

"Of course, Ronald," Hermione slightly chuckled as she wiped down the counter, "and, once again, it's an exchange program for my credits. Stop being so melodramatic."

"Poor bloke can't help himself, can he?" Harry said, taking a swig of his drink with one hand while snatching the beanie off of his friend's head, his black wire glass falling askew in the process. Ron immediately reached out to grab the hat, accidently knocking over his half full bottle in the process causing its contents to spill onto the bar top. Both boys stilled and cautiously looked over at Hermione, who simply stopped her movements to stare at the new mess. She closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths, and the boys braced themselves for the tongue-lashing they were about to receive when they were saved by a voice speaking over the microphone

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Joseph and Kaitlyn and their…interesting…rendition of Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are"", Denise said, as the crowd laughed awkwardly remember the borderline pornographic show the aforementioned couple put on during the song, "Hate to say it, but it's time for last song and I was thinking we should let our dearest Hermione grace the mic before forgetting us little people after she does her year at SIPA. What do you all say?"

Hermione couldn't help the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile at hearing Denise and the crowd's cheers. Sending a very pointed 'This isn't over' look to Ron and Harry (who had the decency to look sheepish and grab a rag to clean up their mess), she made her way through the crowd of classmates and locals to the small stage. She gave Denise a hug and a friendly kiss on the cheek once she stepped on stage.

"Never little people, Nicey, never ever," Hermione giggled, "who knows, might build up a SIPA crowd, yeah?" Sarcastic laughter rolled over the crowd. "Okay, okay play nice. Anyways, let's see what we have…" she flipped through the song selections on the laptop, "….here we go."

She pressed 'play' and began to belt out Sia's 'Chandelier'; you would've never guessed she had gotten less than four hours of sleep the night before and had just come off an eight hour shift based on the power and maturity of her voice. Yes, Hermione may have had her doubts and worries about SIPA, but she decided she would worry about them tomorrow. After a real meal and a long ass nap.

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"Psychologists, clinical research, and twins studies show that often times, twins can create secret languages among themselves when they're children. Whether it's through words, a sign language, written, or any verbal/non-verbal, it's one of the many mysteries and phenomena of twins, both identical and fraternal.

Here's a thesis question for you. If you have two people who share the same father but have different mothers, didn't grow up together, and just happened to be born on the same day about a minute apart, would this same phenomena occur? You're probably thinking 'no, of course not, that's ridiculous', and you wouldn't be wrong. It's very unlikely. Then, of course, there's always the anomaly to what the research says, and in this scenario, their names are Draco Malfoy and Zara Taylor-Malfoy.

Draco and Zara aren't traditional twins; in fact, they technically aren't twins at all. The "Malfoy Twins" title was kind of thrust upon them once Zara officially took the Malfoy last name and their story came to light in the performing arts community. The only physical resemblance the two shared was their ice grey eyes inherited from their father and pale blond hair; while Draco had a full head of the telltale locks, Zara's black tresses had one bold streak near the front of the same shade since birth. Both 21-year-olds were relatively tall- Draco standing at a solid 6'3 and Zara 5'7- and fit; while Draco took after his mother and father's pale complexion and sharp, aristocratic facial features, Zara mirrored her mother's caramel and soft facial features, though she did have her father's pointed nose (a fact that made her consider getting a nose job on more than a few occasions). As the story goes, Lucius Malfoy had a long-term affair with the head piano professor at SIPA that resulted in a child. When the child was born barring the Malfoy grey eyes and strand of blonde hair, his wife Narcissa insisted he fire the accompanist and ban her from the university grounds. Lucius purchased a comfortable apartment for Zara and her mother (""Off the record", he said to the renter sliding a significant amount of money across the table) he kept in touch with the child as a "mentor", he and her mother teaching her music and enrolling her in SIPA Youth Summer Program. Neither Lucius nor Zara's mother knew of Zara's curiosity of her grey eyes and blonde streak that matched Mr. Malfoy's _too_ perfectly. Zara's mother died suddenly due to illness when the girl was 17, and she moved into the Malfoy home. She agreed to take the Malfoy last name only if it could be hyphenated after her mother's surname of Taylor.

How does this go back to those twin studies about language? Well, thank you for that question. Prior to knowing they were related, Draco and Zara only interacted during the youth summer program and the two became an odd duo. Draco protected her from bullies who made fun of her grey eyes and black and blonde hair, and Zara wasn't afraid of Draco's piercing stare and silent demeanor. After the truth came out of their parentage, their relationship shifted. Sure they had always been close per say, but upon learning just how close made them see each other, their father, and their new make shift family differently. The two had always been active, running around the large campus and, as they got older, fitness and a gym schedule. Typically, their workouts consisted of trash talk and jokes but the past four years were spent in silence. Their only communication really was going to the gym at the same time, doing their fitness sets, and taking the family's 4-year-old husky Princeton aka Flufferbutt (a gift to Zara on her official first day with the Malfoy's) on their morning runs. It wasn't that they disliked each other now, but they weren't quite sure how to interact with each other, and this went right up their individual relationships with their father and Zara's relationship with Narcissa. Going into their senior year, Zara and Draco thought heavily about what happens next not only career wise in what happens after SIPA but also with their still new and developing sibling-ship.

It was the day before the first day of the academic year, and the Malfoy "twins" went about their morning routine. Draco stared quietly at the SIPA campus as he waited for Zara and Princeton to come outside. When he saw them walk out the door, Zara closing and locking the door behind her, he handed her the custom green and silver Beats headphones (SIPA school colors, another gift from dear old Dad…who's dreadful idea was that, green and silver? Jesus…) before he put in his own simple white iPhone earbuds. After getting a confirming nod from Zara, he gently scratch behind the puppy's ear and took off jogging, Zara and Princeton quickly catching up to him. It truly was a beautiful day, they both thought taking in the scenery around them; here's to hoping the year remained just as beautiful.

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 **It's out in the world now! Ahhh! What do you think? Keep going? Try again? Anything you'd like to see? Hit that review button!xoxo, Nova Porter**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to my first few followers- manitou2422, SereniteRose, HaveManners,** **imagine-ation, mcollis3, and Sakura-n-Syaoran! While the big picture is in my head, the fine details are getting ironed out as I go along.**

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Fun fact: Draco loved the first day of school. It's been his quietest kept secret ever since he was a child. There was something about starting new and starting with a fresh slate that was energizing for the 21-year-old. He wouldn't admit to it out loud, but Draco really enjoyed school and it was bittersweet that this was his senior year. It wasn't just new beginnings that excited the vocal performance major; school provided a distraction for the familial mess that went on behind the scenes. While his parents continued to not speak to each other in the privacy of the family home and played the part of a happy, wholesome couple in public, Draco was able to dive head first into his work and become top of his graduating class. Not to mention being the headmaster's son came with added perks and popularity, so not only was his academic calendar full, but also so was his social calendar. Honestly, Draco was preparing himself for the day his father told him that he and his mother were officially divorcing. He asked his father once if they were getting a divorce during freshman year which resulted in a swift hand to the back of the head, so the young man never brought it up verbally again; considering that his mother was barely in the house anymore unless there was some social event or gala, Draco knew it was only a matter of time if it hadn't already happened under the table.

Draco stepped out of the shower, grabbing the towel on the nearby rack and wiping down his face and body before draping it over his shoulders (another fun fact: Draco loved walking around in the nude). Walking into his adjacent room where the standard classical Pandora was playing on his computer, he went into his drawer and threw a pair a boxer briefs on his bed before going into the small walk-in closet to pick out his first-day-of-school outfit. Childish? Yes. Did he care? Not particularly. He was walking back into his room, right past the bedroom door, when…

"Hey, Blondie, your father w-OOF!"

It happened quickly and in slow motion simultaneously; Draco walked into the door as it was swung open which sent him barreling to the floor, and in the same breath the door swung back hitting Zara square in the face causing her to stumble back a few steps.

" _Ssssshit!_ " Both Malfoys hissed in pain, rubbing their individually injured areas. Zara was the first to recover.

"What the fuck, Draco? Must we with the nudity? No one wants to see that tiny, wimpy thing."

"I'm sorry, I thought this was my room and I could walk around however I pleased," Draco replied snarkily, though he did take the towel from around his neck and wrapped it loosely around his waist. "And it's not tiny and wimpy," he added as a side note.

Zara rolled her eyes. "Yea, okay. Anyways, Lucius said he wanted to see you before you headed to class; said he'd be in his office."

"Did Dad say wha-"

He looked up to realize that Zara had already walked out of the room, her footsteps heard walking down the hall and down the stairs. Draco took a deep breath, running his hands down his face and through his still slightly damp hair. He would never understand what exactly changed between them four years ago, but he tried to empathize with her. After all, the girl's world was flipped sideways in the matter of 24 hours and she didn't really have time to adjust. He'd have to think about it another time, though; apparently his father wanted a word with him before class. Quickly throwing on his underwear, the slim cut jeans, white button down (with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow _juuuust_ right), and brown Clarks outfit he ultimately decided on, he ran some product through his hair and headed downstairs to grab a breakfast bar before heading to meet his father. Not expecting to find his mother sitting at the kitchen table considering she had been gone that past five days, Draco slightly slowed his movements before entering the kitchen.

"Hello, mother," he said after brief hesitation. Narcisa Malfoy turned her head slightly upon hearing her son's voice. The older woman looked every bit of a socialite; even as it was barely 9am, the woman wore a casual but tailored navy and cream blouse with cream slacks and Jimmy Choo flats, her long blond tresses curled perfectly and her make-up down flawlessly. She smiled and stood to hug her only son.

"Draco, darling. How are you? Well, let me look at you!" She stood back slightly, still holding his hands. "My son, the college senior. I can't believe it."

"Mum, please stop," Draco grinned bashfully at his mother…well, at his mother being a mother… "You'll ruin your make-up and we wouldn't want that."

"No, I suppose not," the woman dabbed the corner of her eyes lightly with her fingers. "What are you heading?"

"I was going to meet the gang in the courtyard before class, but I was heading to meet Dad in his office. Zara said that he wanted to see me."

Draco had his back turned to his mother as he grabbed an apple from the refrigerator, but he didn't need to turn around to know the look of disapproval that appeared on his mother's face at the mention of Zara's name.

"Hmm. Yes, his other child. Well, I suppose I should let you go find your father so you can meet with your friends," Narcissa said, turning the page of the magazine she had been reading prior to Draco's entrance.

Draco had a slight feeling that his mother had something else to say, but he decided not to pursue it. He leaned to down give his mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Love you, Mum. Glad I got to see you this morning." He felt her smile and walked out the door, not noticing the tinge of sadness in her blue eyes nor the solitary tear falling down her cheek.

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Despite its pompous and elitist reputation, Hermione couldn't deny that SIPA's campus was gorgeous; it looked like something out of a fairy tale. Understand, she loved Godric University (as proven by her choice of clothing that day of black distressed skinny jeans, sneakers, and her favorite Godric off-the-shoulder t-shirt…and yes, she knew today was her move-in day for SIPA and she didn't give a damn about wearing Godric apparel), but there was something magical about the SIPA campus. The campus building seemed to form a circle of some sort, with two main buildings in the center. She walked towards the center buildings assuming one of them would be where she needed to meet Dr. Malfoy, taking in the scenery around her. One large suitcase, a backpack, and duffle bag in tow, she slowly walked up the slight incline through the front gate. She wasn't surprised to the stares she felt and received from students; she clearly looked like lost and out of place, wearing a glaringly obvious Godric shirt, the large burgundy and gold crest with the proud Godric lion front and center. Hermione figured if she at least looked like she had some idea of where she was going, or at least made it to one of those two central buildings, she'd be fine; fake it 'til you make it, right? She continued her walk and exploration of the campus when a random husky ran up to her and started to jump on her. Hermione wasn't scared of dogs (her parents owned an English bulldog when she was a child) but she was definitely taken off guard by the clearly excited pup.

"Dammit, Princeton! Get off the girl, yea?" The dog's own soon appeared and pulled the dog off of Hermione, reattaching the leash to its collar and commanding it to sit. "Sorry about that. He's friendly, I promise."

"No worries, he's adorable," Hermione replied, scratching behind the pup's ear and taking in the girl in front of her. With even caramel skin, straight black hair currently under a backwards baseball cap, and piercing ice grey surrounded by long lashes, she was effortlessly drop dead gorgeous, if not slightly intimidating (probably due to her height compared to Hermione's 5'4 frame). Hermione took note of the bold and chunky blonde highlight in the front of her hair, and the tattoos that covered the entirety of her right arm. From the brief glance, Hermione saw its majority consisted of large red roses, and within the roses had an old school microphone, a record player, and…she couldn't quite make out that last thing but she could assume it was music related. It was truly a beautiful piece. Before her staring reached the creepy level, she reached out her hand to introduce herself.

"Hermione Granger. Domestic exchange student from Godric University."

The other girl quirked an eyebrow at Hermione's outstretched hand, her eyes darting between her hand, her face, and her shirt; maybe Hermione was onto something with this intimidating vibe. Eventually, the other girl took her outstretched hand and shook it gingerly.

"Zara…and Princeton, or Flufferbutt," she said, looking down at the now-standing husky, who's tail was wagging with clear joy and excitement.

Hermione chuckled at the odd nickname and checked the time on her phone. "Oh shit…hey, you wouldn't happen to know where the headmaster's office is? Dr. Malfoy? I'm supposed to meet with him to get situated."

Hermione thought she saw Zara slightly roll her eyes at the mention of the headmaster, but it was so brief she thought nothing extra of it. "Building behind me. He's on the first floor."

"Thanks, hope to see you around?"

Zara gave a half smile and shoulder shrug in response, and walked around Hermione to continue on her way. Hermione couldn't tell if Zara just wasn't much of a talker or if she had a problem with her (only God would know why considering they had barely met) and went to continue her walk when she heard a "hey, Godric!" from behind. Assuming the voice was talking to her, considering she would be the only person with Godric apparel on, she turned and found Zara standing a few feet away.

"Pardon?" she said, assuming the grey-eyed girl was the one her said it.

"Lose the shirt, Godric." Zara sent a small two-finger salute to Hermione and turned to continue her walk with Princeton. Hermione caught a glimpse of the silver and green serpent mascot on Zara's hat, before looked down at her t-shirt and huffed, running her fingers through her brown curls and pushing them to the side with one hand, and grabbing the handle of her suitcase with the other.

 _Well fuck you and your cheesy ass serpent then_ , she thought flippantly as she continued her way to the office.

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 **And here's your chapter 2! How do you feel about the chapter lengths; too long, too short, just right? Don't forget to review; we writers love reviews! xoxo, Nova Porter**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you, thank you, thank** **youuuu for the follows, favorites, and reviews so far :) Enjoy Chapter 3!**

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"You wanted to see me?" Draco said, stepping into his father's office and taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs facing his father's desk.

Lucius Malfoy looked up from the file he was putting together when he heard his son approach his desk. He glanced at the clock on his mahogany desk as he closed the green SIPA folder; 8:30am, that means he had 30 minutes before he had to meet with the new student.

"Yes, Draco. Come in…well, you already are in I suppose…" it was odd for Draco t see his father flustered like this, but he sat and waited as the older man walked around his desk and leaned against it next to the chair Draco was sitting in, "well, son, here we are. Senior year. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Fine, I guess," Draco said, still confused by his father's odd nervousness, "Zara said you wanted to see me this morning, so…what's up?"

Lucius' brow furrowed slightly. "She's not with you, then?"

Draco snorted and shook his head. "I have no idea where the girl is."

Lucius sighed, running his hands down his face. He paced around his office for a few moments before settling with his back to his son to look out over the campus through the large windows of his office. When he told Zara to tell Draco to stop by the office, he specifically asked her to come with him. His daughter was such an enigma; where she got her stubbornness and complete lack of respect for authority from was beyond him. If he were really honest with himself, Lucius knew that her willfulness really only extended to him (and for good reason), but that was a painful road Lucius rarely travelled down. That road, however, was part of the reason why he needed to speak with his son and daughter, preferably at the same time. Lucius snapped back to the present after realizing his son was speaking to him.

"I'm sorry, son, can you repeat that?"

"I said I saw mum this morning in the house before coming here. I didn't realize she was scheduled to come back so soon."

"Hmm, yes. It was a slight shock for me as well. Anyways," Lucius glanced at his watch; how was it 8:50 already? "I wanted to talk with you and your sister about something, but it seems that we'll have to put it on pause since she's not here."

"Well, I can text her to…"

"No, no, no, it's fine," Lucius turned back to his son, "some time this week we'll go for a nice family dinner and we'll chat then, yes?"

Draco stood and swung his school bag over his shoulder. He was pretty sure whatever his father had to tell him had to do with his parents' marriage, but decided against asking about it right now. In a way, he was happy whatever this conversation was supposed to be was put on pause because he could at least pretend that everything was fine and his first-day-of-school mentality would remain in tact.

"Yea, sure. No worries; I let Zara know the next time I see her."

Lucius nodded and took a moment to look at his son. It was almost like looking at his younger self every time the older man took time to actually look at his son. Lucius had never been shy about boasting about Draco, even when the young man was in nappies. There was nothing like a father's pride in his children, and the fact that Draco excelled in his studies and in his talent was just icing on the cake. After a few seconds (what felt like a few hours to Draco, who was not at all used to his father staring at him like this), Lucius patted Draco on the shoulder soundly before sending the young man on his way. Draco simply raised an eyebrow at his father's unusual behavior and continued about his day, leaving the office to go meet with his friends at the campus café. Walking down the stairs of the administrative building, he walked by a girl in a Godric tshirt and a mass of brown curly hair struggling to pull a suitcase up the staircase. Why the girl didn't use the elevator he wasn't sure, but the poor thing looked almost ready to collapse and since Draco was, in fact, a gentleman, he turned around to aide the girl.

"Need any help?" he asked, making his presence known.

Her mid-length curls swung over her shoulder when she turned her head to put a face to the voice. She sighed in relief. "If you don't mind, that'd be wonderful."

Draco lifted the bottom of the suitcase and together the two carried it to the top of the stairs. The girl sighed again. "Thanks so much. I don't understand why there isn't a damn elevator in this building."

"Um…there actually is an elevator…to the right of the door."

She groaned, dropping her head back causing the curls to tumble over her shoulders down her back. "Of course there is. Can you tell I have no idea where I am?"

Draco chuckled. "Nope; absolutely nothing gave you away," he said sarcastically, nodded his head towards her shirt. "I have to head off, but anything else I can help you with…?"

"Oh, Hermione; Hermione Granger. And no, I think I'm good; I should be able to find the headmaster's office from here. Thanks…um…?"

"Yea, straight down the hall to the left. And Draco; pleasure to meet you, Hermione. Welcome to Salazar…and you might wanna change your shirt when you get a moment." Draco gently patted Hermione on the shoulder with a cheeky grin before walking off to meet his friends, seeing as he was already late meeting up with them.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco's retreated form before continuing her way down the hall, miffed at a second comment about her shirt and curious over how his eyes were really similar to the other girl's from earlier. Tucking it away for future thought, she knocked on the appropriate door, and a man who looked exactly like Draco-or at least how he would look in 20 years- opened the door.

"Ms. Granger, I presume?" The man extended a well-manicured pale hand. "Dr. Lucius Malfoy, headmaster of Salazar Institute for Performing Arts. A pleasure to meet you in person."

Hermione took the extended hand, giving it a firm shake. "Likewise, sir. Thank you so much for this opportunity."

Lucius stepped aside to allow the petite young woman to enter his office. "Well, after looking over your transcript and listening to the samples you sent, I would be a fool not to. I must say I was quite impressed."

Hermione humbly bowed her head slightly, a small, embarrassed smile gracing her lips. "Wow…thank you sir."

"Please take a seat," he extended his arm towards the chair Draco had been sitting in previously while taking a seat in his large office chair. "I'm sure Dr. Dumbledore explained the year to you. You'll be a full time student for the school year, room and board taken care of as part of the exchange, and you'll continue your studies here while sending monthly reports to Dr. McGonagall. I've put together a folder with your class schedule, a campus map, and keys to your dormitory and room. I understand that you have a part time evening job in the city?" Hermione nodded, looking through the green folder that had been handed to her. "Your class schedule shouldn't interfere; however you will be expected to practice a certain amount of hours per week and prepare for the year-end showcase. Do you have any questions so far?" Hermione shook her head no. "Okay, wonderful. If you have any questions in the future, my business card with my contact information is also in the folder. Dr. Severus Snape may also be a resource for you, as he is the main advisor for seniors; I've placed his business card in there as well. I'm sure you'd like to unpack and take some time to look around so I'll wrap up there." Lucius stood, Hermione following his lead while putting the folder in her backpack.

"Thank you sir, again. I look forward to the year," Hermione extended her hand to the older man again.

"Likewise, Ms. Granger." They shook hands again and as Hermione bent down to pick up her duffle bag, a family photo on the edge of Dr. Malfoy's desk caught her attention. The gears in her head finally clicked into place when she stepped on the elevator (which of course was now glaringly obvious and easy to find); it would seem that Draco, Zara (that was her name!) and Dr. Malfoy were all related seeing as they all had the exact same eye shape and color. That made her curious about Zara's heritage considering the girl's darker hue compared to the two men, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask. It was, however, an observation she made to Harry during their FaceTime conversation after she had found her dormitory and made up her bed.

"Huh, interesting" said the raven-haired boy, "so…how much of a prick do you think they'll be, one to ten?"

"Harry!" Hermione laughed, lying across the freshly made bed having changed into a plain white tshirt (and NOT because of aforementioned commentary about her Godric shirt, thank you very much…) "I love how that what you got from that entire train of thought. And you can't assume they're pricks; actually, both of them seemed pleasant enough. It's too early to tell what's going to happen."

"You just said they both talked shit about your Godric shirt…"

"And I cursed the girl's hat in my head. Just because they may- MAY -be the headmaster's kids doesn't mean they're going to be entitled idiots."

Harry rolled his eyes, the scenery around him changing from trees and sky to brick and fluorescent lights. "Right. Well anyways, I'm about to walk into rehearsal so see you tonight at Jukebox? Pick you up at 7:30."

"You shall indeed. Give everyone my love." Hermione ended the call and sat up looking around her living quarters for the upcoming year. It must have been one of the upper classmen dormitories because Hermione basically had a studio apartment with a small kitchenette, bathroom, a small dining table, desk, and sofa. Currently, the room was pretty dry and colorless outside of the black and white bed set (and a burgundy and gold Godric throw blanket because fuck you SIPA and your stupid silver and green serpent), but Hermione figured she could grab some stuff from her current room at Godric to make it more warm and homey…or she could use this as an excuse to go shopping. Since she didn't have Monday classes, Hermione used the rest of the morning to unpack her suitcase and make a list of supplies and necessities she'd need for the space; the afternoon she decided to walk about the campus for a bit before getting ready for Harry to pick her up for work. She just happened to catch Draco's eye as he and three others walked out of one of the buildings across the way. He smiled and gave her a brief, friendly wave before laughing at something the dark-skinned man walking next to him said. She couldn't help but notice the small girl with jet-black hair clutch to Draco's arm a tad bit tighter after noticing the direction of his wave. Hermione paid the girl no mind and continued her stroll through campus, stopping in the student center for a chai latte. She supposed she could survive here for a year.

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 **As always, your reviews keep me mindful and aware of what you like/dislike/hope to see more of. The goal is to update every week at the earliest-two weeks at the latest, and I'm still deciding how long the story is going to be. I have a lot of ideas in my head of fun scenarios for our favorite couple and other relationships within the story, so stay with me! Fun times ahead! Xoxo, Nova Porter**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 is finally up! Writing and job hunting simultaneously keep a girl busy :P**

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 _Even though Zara had spent many a summer and afternoons post-school at Salazar Institute and the Malfoy home, this Thursday morning felt as though she were going for the first time. It had barely been a month since her mother had past and the truth of the young girl's parentage came to light, and to be honest Zara was a bit annoyed that she hadn't figured it out sooner. Let's be real, here; a black with ice grey eyes and a very striking and very natural blonde highlight aren't exactly common. Not to mention said features matched those of "Mr. Malfoy" and Draco a little to personally. Thinking about Draco gave her pause and almost caused her to miss a step walking to the front door of the large house; what did he think about all of this? Sure, they were close and sibling-like, but now they were actually siblings…due to his father's infidelity no less. Zara looked back to where she parked her modest car, seriously contemplating getting back in the car, getting a job somewhere, and finding a small apartment far away from SIPA and the Malfoys. Her fist betrayed her and knocked on the door, which was opened rather immediately to show Lucius's wife, Narcissa, looking as posh as ever in her black and pink skirt set. For a moment, Zara felt rather small and downy in her plain t-shirt, high waisted skinny jeans, and worn-down converse. Narcissa looked down her nose at the biracial girl and walked back into the home, leaving the door open. Zara took that as an invitation to enter, leaving the feeling of smallness at the doorstep. Narcissa was never one to hide her dislike for Zara, and today was no different._

 _"Lucius! The girl's here!" Zara rolled her eyes at the obvious disgust in the older woman's voice coming from the kitchen. 'The girl'…it's as if she didn't have a name; in fact, it was as if Zara purposely decided to be born and-_

 _"Zara, you're here."_

 _Zara's train of thought halted hearing the voice of Mr. Malfoy. He looked exactly the same as he always did- pressed black trousers, pressed dress shirt, his hair pulled into a low ponytail-and yet, he looked different. I supposed that's what happens when the man you saw as a mentor turned into your father in a single breath._

 _"It would appear so Mr. Mal- Lucius."_

 _Lucius shifted his stance slightly. "Yes, I supposed Mr. Malfoy wouldn't be appropriate anymore, now would it? You know, given the circumstance, 'Father' or 'Dad'…"_

 _"No, I think I'll stick with Lucius," Zara cut him off, crossing her arms._

 _Lucius nodded slowly, lips pursed. "Touché. Well, darling, whenever you're ready, Draco or I can show you to your room and you can begin moving you things in. We'll look through what you have, and we may have to take a quick shopping trip for some semi-formal and formal attire, but we can iron out those details later."_

 _Lucius wasn't sure if Zara heard him because for a few moments she didn't move; eventually she turned on her heel towards to stairs. She ran into Draco the moment she hit the top step. He stepped back slightly allowing her to take the last step to the second floor, and the two stood awkwardly figuring out who should say what first. Draco eventually decided to break the silence._

 _"Sorry about your mum. Ms. Taylor…well, you know she was more a mother to me than my own."_

 _Zara nodded mutely, not quite sure how to respond with words. There was more awkward shuffling and purposeful lack of eye contact before Draco decided to speak again._

 _"Your room's down the hall to the right. If you need help with your stuff, let me know…I should…I should be around."_

 _Zara nodded and mumbled a soft but kind "thanks", and walked swiftly in the direction Draco pointed out to her. It seemed that Lucius took it upon himself to furnish the room with a queen bed set and dresser, and had attempted to do some decorating with the navy blue bedding and pillows. He even placed an oversized teddy bear with a green and silver bowtie in the center of the bed; the man really did try and Zara had to give him some credit. Zara went back downstairs to try to find Draco to help her unload her car, but he was nowhere to be found. She wandered around the house for a while, noticing the door of the study closed as an attempt to muffle Lucius and Narcissa's heated argument (note: it was failing miserably and Zara may or may not have heard Narcissa's complaint about "that mulatto brat in my house"), before heading outside figuring Draco might have stepped outside to get away from the arguing. She checked the pool and the three-car garage before coming to the conclusion that Draco had left the house completely, and Zara purposefully ignored the tight feeling in her chest and the tears that pricked the back of her eyes. Swallowing her mirage of feelings that were starting to build, Zara went back to her car and began unpacking the suitcases and other miscellaneous items in her backseat and trunk. This was the only thing her mother asked of her daughter, and dammit Zara was going to honor her mother's wish._

Zara hugged the old and large teddy bear close to her chest, as she lay awake in the early hours of the morning. She hadn't realized she was crying until she tasted the salt on her lips. It was still unbelievable to her that her mother was gone, and she didn't quite have anyone to talk with in the house because, well, it was a touchy subject and many levels. Zara took a deep breath and rolled over, chuckling slightly at Princeton sprawled out across his doggy bed in the corner completely oblivious to his human or the world around him. She drifted back to sleep a few moments later, wondering how the pup could've possibly ended up like that.

* * *

Two weeks in, and Hermione seemed to get the hang of her new surroundings. She had gotten a few of her decorative items from her place at Godric and after some online shopping her room was now very cozy and just to her liking. It was still very evident that Hermione wasn't quite the typical SIPA student; she had reduced the amount of Godric apparel she wore on a regular basis (but she still refused to purchase anything SIPA), but her casual, relaxed style and big curly hair seemed to clash with the preppy and posh atmosphere of SIPA. It wasn't bad, just different. She ran into Draco every so often around campus; they even shared an elective together- The Basics of Musical Theatre. He was always with the same three people- Hermione eventually found out their names were Theo, Blaise, and Pansy- and Pansy still gave her a stink eye whenever Hermione and Draco spoke. If Hermione knew Draco a little better, she'd ask if he and Pansy had a thing. Hermione had also taken the initiative to introduce herself to Dr. Snape, and to say it was an interesting meeting would be an understatement. Dr. Snape was a rather dry man and it felt like he was in a perpetual state of judging whoever crossed his path; Hermione wasn't quite sure about the man, but she figured she'd need to maintain some type of professional relationship with him during the year.

It was a Friday afternoon in September, and Hermione was at the student café getting her usual chai latte before heading to work. She was getting ready to pay when a pale hand holding a credit card reached over her shoulder. Before she could react and get irritated at the rude and impatient customer behind her, the low, familiar voice put her at ease.

"Put her purchase on my card, please. And add a small black tea to that order, if you could," Draco said to the barista, sliding next to Hermione with a smile. Hermione rolled her eyes with a breathy laugh and readjusted the sunglasses atop her head.

"Well, aren't you charming, Mr. Malfoy?" she said, stepping to the side to wait for her drink.

"Mr. Malfoy is my father," he responded cheekily, "where are you always off to on a Friday evening?"

"Are you stalking me now?" Hermione asked with a smirk and quirked eyebrow, grabbing her and Draco's drinks from the window. "I don't suppose your girlfriend would appreciate that." She handed him his tea and pulled her sunglasses down as she walked outside.

Draco's long legs allowed him to easily beat her to the door, and he held it open for her. "Stalking? Never. Just observant. And Pansy is _not_ my girlfriend."

"Really? Shocker; poor girl doesn't seem to be aware of that."

Draco chuckled slightly, taking a cautionary sip of the hot drink. "Yea…it's been like that for years. It's harmless; she's fine once you get to know her."

"Hmm, I think I'll pass. Besides," Hermione pulled her car keys from her back pocket and pressed the button to unlock the small two-seater (she finally was able to get a parking permit), "I think she already has it in her mind that I'm out to steal you away from her."

"She thinks that about every woman," Draco remarked, holding the car door open as Hermione slid into the front seat and started the car, "And, you never answered my question. Where are you always off to on Fridays?"

"Work, since you're so curious. I'm a bartender…and I'm going to be late if you don't close my door." She reached and tried to pull the door close, but Draco wouldn't budge.

"Last question, I promise…I promise!...What are you doing tomorrow night?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow and looked over the rim of her sunglasses at the blond calmly sipping his tea waiting for a response. After realizing he wasn't going to let her close the door until she answered, Hermione sighed loudly and turned her car off; gas was too expensive to waste.

"Probably homework, and working on my portfolio in a practice room."

Hermione didn't like the mischievous smile that appeared on Draco Malfoy's handsome face; she didn't like it one bit. She was about to voice her distrust, when someone happened to walk up and do it for her.

"Oh God, that's still a thing?" Zara said, leaning against the car. She had been looking for Draco to confirm the supposed dinner with his parents that night, and happened to walk into the tail end of his and Hermione's conversation.

"Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?" Draco replied.

"Because it's stupid?"

"Hi, hello…still have to get to work, and still very confused on what you're going on about," Hermione said in between the two Malfoys.

"Sadly, Godric," Zara said, having decided she liked the nickname for the Granger girl, "'tis a SIPA tradition and, though I think it's a ridiculous tradition, I won't be the one to break it today."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Aren't you kind?" he said dryly, "Well, I suppose we should let Hermione get on to work. You and I have a dinner to get ready for, don't we, sis?"

Hermione laughed as she restarted her car having caught a look at Zara narrowing her eyes at her brother. "Yea, well you two enjoy dinner," she said shutting the door and rolling down the window, "I'll see you tomorrow apparently." With that, Hermione pulled out of her space and headed to work leaving the two Malfoys standing facing each other for a moment. Zara ran a hand through her hair and turned away from him slightly while Draco finished off the last of his tea.

"Do you know what this dinner is about?" Zara asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Families can't go out to dinner just because?" Draco asked, walking past the girl only to stop a few steps later upon hearing her hearty laughter. She all but gently patted his shoulder, dramatically wiping fake tears from her lined eyes.

"You forget the family you're in, dear. They _can't_ do 'just because'."

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 **What do we think? We have more Dramione interactions, school year's starting up, things are starting to happen...keep the reviews coming with your thoughts and reactions! Until next chapter...xoxo, Nova Porter**


	5. Chapter 5

**New update time! Thank you all for being so patient with me; I'm trying to stick to my weekly schedule as best as I can. Enjoy Ch. 5!**

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Dinner wasn't the biggest shit show the Malfoy family had endured, but it easily ranked top two. The Malfoys had a lot of clout and prestige amongst the arts community, so it wasn't too unusual for the director or founder of xyz arts center or the department chair of music and fine arts of xyz university to introduce themselves to Lucius when the family was out in public. Lucius, himself, had a flourishing career in vocal performance before stepping into the role as SIPA's headmaster so some of the attention came from his past career. When the news of his infidelity and his daughter hit the social circles, well you can imagine how that went. The scandal had died down as the years went on, but seeing the family together- three pale, blond-haired individuals and one dark-haired, darker-skinned individual- always brought about some double takes.

Back to tonight's dinner. It started off as fine as fine goes; Lucius and Draco looked dapper in their dark suits with Draco deciding to forgo a tie unlike his father, Narcissa looked lovely in her ivory mid-length evening dress and pearls, and Zara was classic in her black jumpsuit and strappy heels. Conversation was tight but pleasant enough, and the food at the posh Mediterranean restaurant was always delicious so though the meal was spent in silence all four parties were enjoying their meal. It was dessert when shit hit the fan.

"Well, wasn't that a lovely meal," Narcissa declared, delicately dabbing the sides of her mouth with her napkin before placing it back into her lap as the server came to the table.

"Always a pleasure to hear that, Mrs. Malfoy," Julian replied courteously, taking their empty plates. Julian had been working at the restaurant for the past two years as a part time job while attended university and Mrs. Malfoy had taken a liking to the young man. Whenever the family came to the restaurant, they would always come on a night he was working- Narcissa's request. "Would you like your usual dessert?"

"Yes, please. Thank you so much, Julian," she responded, placing a gentle hand on Julian's cheek with a smile.

Julian nodded with a polite "yes ma'am" and started walking away before pivoting back toward the table. "And would you like another glass of red, Ms. Taylor-Malfoy?"

"Please," Zara responded almost too hastily. She ignored Narcissa's disapproving side glare as she tipped her head back finishing her second glass of pinot noir. Draco, Lucius, and Julian all tried and failed to hide the amused chuckles.

"I'll take care of that," Julian said before walking back towards the kitchen. He thought no one noticed the brief but lustful gaze towards Narcissa, but Zara was quite the observant one. About ten minutes later, Julian delivered the desserts and wine to the table; Zara grabbed the bottle from his hand as he was leaving because 1) he was way too polite in his pour and 2) she knew she would need a full glass for the looming topic of conversation.

"Since we're nearing the end of our meal, I suppose we should talk about why your mother ( _"his mother"_ Zara corrected under her breath) and I brought you out here tonight," Lucius started pushing his plate back and folding his hands in the empty space nervously tapping his fingers on the table, "Narcissa and I…well, as you both are aware Narcissa has been traveling and out of the house for days and weeks at a time for the past two years or so." Draco leaned back in his seat attentively listening to his father, and Zara became increasingly more interested in the wine in her glass. "Firstly, we want you both to know that this decision does not affect our love for both of you and-"

"HA! This witch does not love me," Zara interrupted, "she don't even like me. So why don't we cut the pleasantries and get to the point of this, hmm?"

Lucius closed his eyes and focused on his breathing to calm himself; Zara surely had a way with words. "Very well then." He turned to Draco, who had been looking pointedly at the table during the entire exchange up until now; when he felt his father's gaze on him, he turned to the older man. "I'm sorry to say that it seems that your mother and I's marriage has run its course."

Draco waited a beat before clarifying, "So…basically…you're separating."

"No, darling, we've been separated for years now," Narcissa corrected, pushing the empty plate to the side and reaching for her glass of sparkling wine, "we're in the process of finalizing the official divorce now."

At first glance, it didn't seem like Draco had taken in what his parents had just said. He sat calmly, switching between playing with his dessert fork and swirling the contents in his glass. Lucius sipped from his tumbler, attempting to discreetly glance between Narcissa and Draco every few moments. Narcissa appeared to be completely unbothered and oblivious to the shift in mood at the table as she waved delicately at Julian for the bill. Zara sat conflicted with what to do or say. Narcissa might not have been able to notice (or didn't care enough to notice, and Zara would bet that it was the latter), but she knew that Lucius was aware of his son's pointed silence. Though Zara never cared for the woman and her place in the Malfoy family was starkly different from her half-brother's, she would have been a fool to think this was breaking his heart. The more she thought about it and the more she watched Draco, the angrier she got at Narcissa's complete lack of sensitivity. She took a long sip from her wine glass, and watched as Lucius gave his credit card to Julian. She made sure to make eye contact with the young man, who quickly broke it and clearly his throat uncomfortably rushing away from the table to take care of the check. That was confirmation enough for Zara.

"I must say, Narcissa," Zara started, looking into her three-fourth empty glass, "you seem to have made your peace with this."

Narcissa nonchalantly examined her nails. "Yes, it would seem I have." She folded her hands elegantly in her lap, her posture that of a debutante. Zara hated it. She waited a few beats, refilling her glass as Julian walked back with the receipt.

"So…" Zara looked around the table, "Are we just not going to talk about Narcissa and Julian, then?"

" _Zara Taylor-Malfoy_ ," Lucius hissed, giving his daughter the universal parental 'shut-your-mouth-now' look before looking over to Draco, who still had yet to react to anything happening. Anxious energy caused Zara to start bouncing her foot under the table, though she obeyed her father's tone and stayed quiet. Narcissa looked down her nose at Zara who was seated to her left.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't," Zara mumbled into her glass. She contemplated "accidentally" spilling its contents onto the evil witch, but Lucius kept a trained eye on the girl and raised his eyebrow as if to say "don't even think about it." The fact that Draco had barely moved and hadn't spoken at all during this whole ordeal was making Zara incredibly nervous. At this point, both of his forearms were resting on the table, palms down and his fingers occasionally drumming the table. Taking a chance, Zara put her wine glass down and tentatively reached forward to take one of Draco's hands in hers. The second her hand grazed the top of his, he snapped out of whatever trance he had been in the past ten minutes or so; their eyes locked for a few moments and Zara took a chance to fully hold his hand at which Draco jerked his hand away. He abruptly stood from the table and walked out the restaurant, should checking Julian who just happened to be walking by at the same moment. If Zara weren't so hurt for the boy, she would've laughed. Instead, she stood and took out her car keys (they had all driven separately) indicating her own departure.

"I really hope you're pleased with yourself, Narcissa," she said, shrugging on her jacket not even bothering to look at the woman, "I knew you weren't shit to begin with, but this is a new low. Enjoy your new life with Julian."

She rushed out the restaurant to see if she could catch up with Draco, but he was already gone. She walked about a block in both directions to see if he was still in the area before eventually deciding to walk back to her car in the parking lot. After shutting the door and locking the doors behind her, Zara leaned her head back against the headrest. She knew what a fucked up family situation was like and she'd never wish it on her worst enemy, and Draco was far from an enemy which made the whole thing that much more horrible. The small, optimistic part of Zara wished that this whole ordeal would help her and her brother have an actual conversation and maybe, just maybe, patch up whatever was cracked four years ago. She laughed humorlessly as she started up her car and pulled out of the lot. _Fat chance of that happening_.

* * *

Princeton was a dog that never really minded being by himself. He loved his humans, especially the younger girl human because she had the best taste in music, but he also took after their tendencies to like alone time. His typical day included his morning run with the younger girl human and the younger boy human, lounging around the house while they were gone until someone came back to feed him (usually the younger girl human…reason two why she was his favorite), then hangout with the humans when they came back home after whatever it is they do. He was relaxing in his bed in the girl human's room when he heard the front door open and close more forcefully than usual and the footsteps fall slightly more aggressively on the steps before the door down the hall was swung open. Princeton was a smart pup and recognized the footfall of the humans who frequented the house most often, and he recognized these footsteps as the young boy human. Figuring he may have a treat or that there was a possibility for ear scratches, or better yet belly scratches, Princeton got up from his bed and walked the few steps down the hall into the boy's room. The boy was pacing the length of the room and oblivious to Princeton's presence, so much so that as he took off and threw his blazer and dress shirt his dress shirt landed over Princeton's head. Feeling somewhat offended, Princeton began to whine and shake in an attempt to remove the garment from his head. That was when Draco finally noticed the pup at his door.

"Oh shit, sorry Princeton," he mumbled, removing the shirt from the dog's head and tossing it in an opposite direction. Princeton sent him a judgmental look, but still made himself comfortable next to Draco's bed. He laid his head on his front paws as he watched the boy human continued his pacing, and Princeton could sense the nervous energy around him. Eventually, the boy fell back onto his bed and blankly stared at the ceiling. Princeton technically wasn't allowed on the beds, but he walked up to the edge and rested his head on the side, whining slightly to get the boy's attention. The boy turned his head and stared into the pup's bright blue eyes for a few moments before shifting slightly and patting the new space next to him, inviting the dog up. Delighted by this access to _the bed_ , Princeton quickly jumped up next to the boy human and curled into a comfortable position happily accepting the behind-the-ear scratches. Eventually, the scratches began to slow down and stop, and Princeton realized the boy human had fallen asleep. Princeton hopped off the bed and was about to walk back to his bed, but opted to sleep in the boy's room tonight. Taking advantage of the his previous permission to be on _the bed_ , Princeton jumped back up on the bed and snuggled next to the boy human. He might get in trouble in the morning (or tonight if someone found him), but at least the boy human was less stressed.

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 **Thoughts? This wasn't exactly the direction I wanted this chapter to go in, but I'm overall pleased with the end results. Next chapter will be far more fun and lighthearted. Don't forget those reviews! Thank you so much to those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed so far! xoxo, Nova Porter**


	6. Chapter 6

**Don't be mad! I'm so so so so sorry for the delay. Between traveling and job interviews, I got behind on my update schedule! X( But now, we are back on track. Also, I recently realized that I forgot to put a disclaimer that I don't own HP characters or references, so yea...don't own any of them.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 6!**

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Hermione pushed her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose as she sat in the nook she deemed hers in the SIPA library, which she now officially labeled as her favorite place on campus. Hogwarts Library was not part of the main campus ground, but was located a short walk behind it. The two-floor library was definitely designed with students in mind, the first floor consisting of many large tables and a computer and audio section on the left. While the first floor was designed more for student life and technology, the second floor was filled with stacks of books with a few tables scattered amongst the shelves. Hermione's reading nook was on the top floor in the back right corner where one of the few small tables sat next to a window that provided a perfect few of the sun setting over the campus. With her laptop, headphones, school bag, lunch and snack in tow, Hermione only left her nook for bathroom breaks and two chai tea latte runs. Having finished her "busy work" homework for her elective classes, Hermione spent most of the day going over the requirements for her senior recital and listening through her portfolio to brainstorm songs for her hearing. She emailed her advisor, Dr. McGonagall, to set up a meeting with her to help with the process. Hermione wasn't surprised the she received an immediate response from the older woman, readily agreeing and setting an appointment for the upcoming week and including a cheeky "though, might I say, it's a bit early to be thinking about these things." Hermione had always liked to be ahead in her work, especially after she started her part time job at Jukebox; she loved her job, but the hours were sometimes taxing and being ahead on her work helped give her peace of mind when she slept in for that extra hour or two the day after her shifts.

Hermione was looking over the requirements for the umpteenth time that afternoon- _"Minimum 50 minutes with English, French, German, Italian…can I get away with replacing German with Spanish? Two French or Italian? Pig Latin? Anything to replace German."-_ when the jingle of a FaceTime call startled her out of her work induced trance. Putting the headphones over her ears, she clicked the green button to be greeted by the smiling faces of Ron and Harry.

"Heeeeey Hermioneeee," they said in sing-songy unison, both obnoxiously close to the camera.

"Hello boys," Hermione replied in the same sing-songy tone, getting close to her laptop camera while keeping her voice level down. There may have been fewer people on the second floor, but she was still in a library.

"Two weeks in, tell us everything!" Ron said, both boys shifting to be a more comfortable distance away from the camera.

"Ronald, it's only been two weeks. Literally, the only things that have happened are classes and moving in," Hermione said, pouting slightly after taking the last sip of her second chai tea latte.

"And meeting the headmaster's son and love-child," Harry added.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That happened by chance and you know that. He's actually pretty nice; we have an elective together Mondays and Wednesdays. Though he has a bit of a habit of always being around Fridays right when I'm getting ready to leave for work…"

"Ooooo Hermione's got herself an admirer, eh?" Ron teased in the background.

"Whatever Harry's told you is a lie; don't believe a word he says," Hermione said jokingly, though she could feel a slight blush rise to her cheeks. Hermione wasn't quite ready to admit that the aforementioned blond had been taking up space in her mind more recently in the past week. Draco was definitely attractive, there was no denying that, but there was no basis for having any feelings for him beyond that.

"Naturally," Harry said with a cheeky wink, "wait…are you in a library? Are you kidding me, Hermione? It's two weeks into the year and it's a _Saturday_."

"Yes, it is a Saturday. What better way to come in than on a day it's going to practically be empty already? Plus, it's my Saturday off so why not use the day to get ahead…really, boys?" Hermione scolded them as they made a show of pretending to fall asleep and snore obnoxiously loud.

"Huh? Wha-what was that? Oh, our bad. Dozed off for a bit," Ron said, making a show of stretching and yawning which earned him and Harry a middle finger from Hermione. Ron put his hand over his heart and feigned offense. "Why Ms. Granger, I never!"

"Oh, fuck off."

"Seriously though, Hermione. At least take the night off; go find the local bar or something. Please don't spend your one Saturday-a-month-off in the library."

Hermione rolled her eyes and was about to reply with her usually tongue-in-cheek remarks, then she remembered something Draco had said the day prior. "Actually, Draco did mention something happening tonight that I was supposed to be going to."

"Ooooo Hermione's going on a date," Ron instigated.

"Hush. And it's not a date. Apparently it's some SIPA tradition thing. I honestly don't even know when it is or where I'm going…"

"Godric, there you are!" Hermione looked up to see Zara rounding the corner toward her table. She nodded her head at the approaching girl, point towards her headphones and computer in an attempt to pantomime her FaceTime call.

"Who's that, Hermione? Your _booooyfriend_?" One of them- sounded like Harry- teased. Hermione decided not to respond to the question.

"Boys, this is Zara. Zara, Ron and Harry," Hermione unplugged her headphones so all parties could hear each other. She pretended not to notice Harry's eyes roam over Zara's body as she came around the table and stooped down next to Hermione's chair.

"Which of you is which?" Zara asked, pointing between the two boys.

"Ron Weasley," Harry said, pointing to the redheaded boy who waved lazily, "Harry Potter."

"Zara Taylor…Mal-" she faltered slightly, "Taylor-Malfoy. Well, Ron and Harry, hope you don't mind me stealing your girl for the rest of the evening."

"Not at all. In fact, we were just telling her she needed to get her arse out of the library on this lovely Saturday evening," Harry responded, continuing to take in the coffee-and-cream toned woman next to Hermione.

"You should listen to your friends more, Godric," Zara said, turning her head slightly towards Hermione while keeping eye contact with the green-eyed man on the screen for a moment before giving Hermione her full attention, "Either way, you don't have a choice tonight."

Hermione ran a hand through her hair as she took a deep breath to calm her slightly frazzling nerves. "Right…Harry, I'll call you after whatever this thing is tonight." Ron had since left to go…wherever he went (he was polite enough to wave goodbye at least).

"Don't worry about it. If we don't talk tonight, we'll catch up sometime this week. Until then, _Godric_ ," Harry said, laughing as Hermione gave him the middle finger again at his use of her newly found nickname. "Ms. Malfoy," he said, the tone of his voice dropping slightly and nodding his head towards Zara.

" _Taylor-_ Malfoy…Mr. Potter," Zara replied pointedly, though she did give him a wink as she stood from her squatting position to move to the other side of the table. She sent a quick text to Draco saying she was on her way with Godric (to which he replied ' _cool_ ' which may have been the third thing he said to her since the dinner fiasco the previous night but that's neither here nor there) while Hermione ended her call and pack her belongings.

"Okay," she said, swinging her backpack over her shoulder, "I'm all yours."

"Wonderful," Zara said, locking her phone before sliding it into her back pocket, "Come along, little Godric."

* * *

It took Hermione a total of 60 seconds to decide she was completely over this "tradition". After leaving the library (and after Hermione purchased her third chai latte of the day), she and Zara walked over to the Slytherin Concert Hall. Hermione hadn't yet ventured into the space, but there wasn't much time to explore as Zara led her to the main stage where, at first glance, they had walked into a performance. The young blonde girl currently performing looked all of 18 years old, and had a large paper number attached to the front of her shirt as if she were going to an audition. She had a decent enough voice, but she kept changing her tempo and the pianist seemed to be struggling slightly to keep up. Hermione leaned over to ask Zara what was going on, only to be handed a number and instructed to wait for her number was called then she would perform a song of her choice for "the commentators". It was when Zara walked away to go to her seat that she saw these "commentators" were four of the senior vocal performance majors- Zara, Blaise, Theo, and Draco. They sat in four directors' chairs set up in the center aisle between the floor seats and the mezzanine section, and currently they all looked bored out of their minds. Eventually, Blaise raised his hand to signal the poor terrified girl to stop singing and she waited anxiously for the upperclassmen's commentary, which basically consisted of recycled clichés of constructive criticism. Hermione took a seat in the mezzanine section behind Zara and Draco, already checked out of the whole experience.

"So," she murmured, leaning forward toward the pair, "what exactly is the purpose of this?"

"All first year and transfer vocal majors," Zara pointed to the individuals sitting in the seats in front of them, "have to perform for the seniors," she pointed to the balcony where the seniors were sitting, "just seeing what and who the new school year has brought into the department. Originally, this was how the freshmen auditioned for the department and if the seniors didn't like you, tough shit 'cause you're out the program. Now, it's just something we do for fun."

"Ah." Yupp, this was stupid. The story behind this was interesting, but this was stupid. "I'm not moving, by the way."

Draco and Zara snorted in perfect sync, which was interesting for Hermione considering most of their interactions were minimal to say the least, before Draco replied. "Fair enough, Granger. Just make sure you pay attention for when your number is called."

Hermione looked down at the forgotten number in her hand-720-and looked to see the number of the Indian young man performing now-510. Hermione bit back her groan as to not interrupt his rendition of 'Ave Maria.'

"Relax, Godric," Zara whispered, trying not to laugh out loud, "The numbers don't go in order. And not everyone shows up anyways. Now, hush and watch the show."

In the hour and some change that passed since that exchange, Hermione made a series of random observations. 1) You could tell the difference between a first year student and a transfer student. Overall, the transfer students were more solidified in their style and performance techniques whereas the first year students…well, she's heard enough of the same Handel, Faure, and Mozart pieces to last her a lifetime. 2) Either Draco lied about him and Pansy not being an item, or the poor girl had some serious comprehension issues. She had come down from the balcony at some point, talking about how bored she was and how these arias and solos were starting to run together, and something about how Draco looked tense and needed a break. Draco looked as though he tensed up at Pansy mentioning his supposed tension, and Hermione couldn't help the chuckle that tickled her throat. She tried to look like she was thoroughly engaged with the person onstage when Pansy cast her a dirty look, but Hermione wasn't known for her poker face. 3) Zara and Draco were the oddest pair of siblings she's ever come in contact with. On the one hand, they never really interacted with each other outside of occasional school things and Hermione seeing them run with their dog every morning from her window. On the other, they were so much like twins it was fascinating. Just from sitting behind them, Hermione noticed they tend to lean to the right with their chins' perched on their fists if they were interested in something, and lean to the left with their chins' cradled in their palms if they were bored. And 4) Dear God, was this _ever_ going to _end_? It was probably far more interesting back when this actually mattered for the department, but now this was a form of slow torture. Right when Hermione was convinced she was going to start ripping her hair out, Theo called for…

"Number 720! Seven-Two-Zero…also known as Hermione Granger..!"

"Oh shit," Hermione muttered under her breath, scrambling to get on stage. In the few seconds it took her to walk to the stage, she realized two things. One, she was the only first year/transfer student left in the auditorium. And two, she was sitting there for however long it was and she didn't think to pick a song. Brilliant. She stepped in front of the microphone and used her hand as a shield against the bright stage lights.

"Just sing whatever you like, love," she heard Blaise say, "Stop when I raise my hand, alright?"

"I can barely see your whole person now so I can't imagine how I'm going to see your hand move," Hermione retorted back, causing a rumble of snickers and laughter from the seniors who had moved from the balcony to sit on the first level. Wow, she really hadn't been paying attention for the past hour.

"Touché," Blaise laughed, "Well, stop when you hear me clap twice then."

"Yea, okay," Hermione replied, suddenly riddled with a bout of nervous energy. Stepping away from the microphone, she closed her eye and took a few deep breaths. She could feel her nervous settle, and she walked over to the pianist- the assistant professor for her piano proficiency course- and whispered her song choice in his ear. The handsome black man looked up at her from his phone with an amused look on his face that soon turned into a large smile. Hermione smiled back (she always knew she would like Damien), and took her place in front of the microphone.

* * *

 **Again, soooo sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoyed; don't forget to review! xoxo, Nova Porter**


	7. Chapter 7

**Surprise! Two chapters in one day! This is going to be a shorter chapter, but it's going to round out Chapter 6.**

* * *

 _"Try to turn it off_

 _But it's hard to see_

 _Through this emptiness_

 _Slowly breaking me_

 _Maybe hurt me just a little less_

 _Then I can start to breathe_

 _But still your heart is out of reach…_ SHIT!"

Hermione ducked right before the bootie could hit her in the head. "What the fuck…?!"

"Sorry! Sorry!...I mean, I'm not really sorry but sorry!" Zara shouted her apologies as she hobbled from her seat to the stage to retrieve her shoe. "It's a good thing I promise! You throw your shoes when it's good! Did I hit you? I didn't hit you…okay, sorry…kind of! No more flying shoes…!" By the time she finished her somewhat apology/explanation, Zara had hobbled back to her seat and secured the boot back onto her foot. All the while, everyone who was left in the auditorium (which by now was so few that they all where scattered in different seats on the first level) had a mix of reactions ranging from laughter to applause to slack jaws…and if you're Pansy, soul-withering glares. Hermione laughed awkwardly, throwing a look at Damien who was trying to hide his laughter. He got himself together after a few seconds, and nodded towards the curly-haired brunette who was looking at him with a snarky "whenever you're ready" eye. Take two.

 _"The sun hasn't shined today at all_

 _A funny thing_

 _You haven't called_

 _Tell me why_

 _Or should I be asking?_

 _How would I respond to it all_

 _Times were good_

 _I wish you around more_

 _I can feel you at my door_

 _But it's not you_

 _It's someone else_

 _What can I do?_

 _Or what did we do?_

 _What were we thinking?_

 _And what will we do now?_

 _Right now_

 _Right now_

 _Right now…"_

Hermione was met with a chorus of applause and cheers before she even completely finished her final note. She smiled shyly and gave a slight bow of gratitude, tucking her hair behind her ear as she walked off stage. She made her way back to her seat, not really trying to make eye contact with anyone, but she glanced up briefly and caught eyes with Draco. He was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. The corner of his lips were turned up slightly in a playful smirk as he scanned her body with his eyes, raising his eyebrows slightly with a nod before giving her politely applauding her. Hermione felt a blush creep up her neck as she took her seat and pulled out her phone to check the time and her social media accounts. Theo said something about the night being over but "remember to keep up with SIPA" because events and announcements and something else, and Hermione looked away from her phone for a moment to pick up her backpack when she felt the slim iPhone 6s leave her grasp.

"Excuse you, what the hell-Draco, what are you doing to my phone?" Hermione stood up, waiting for a response from the blond young man who was typing something on her phone. She was about to snatch it back from him, but she then noticed his own phone ringing so she figured he had been putting his number into it. He could've just _asked_ for her number, shit…you don't just go around snatching people phones without any explanation…

"Your phone, my dear."

Hermione tried her hardest to look annoyed, but she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her mouth as she took her phone back from Draco. He looked at her through his lashes, arms crossed over his chest, the playful smirk back on his handsome face. Hermione had gone back to making sure he had all of her belongings before realizing he was looking at her with this…look…and stared back for a few seconds with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Theo, Blaise, and Pansy, the latter wrapping her arms around his torso and throwing Hermione a territorial look. Again, either Draco lied about their relationship or the girl was simply delusional and very confused.

"Hey man, you ready to go? I'm fucking starving," Blaise said, not-so-gently patting Draco on the shoulder. Draco rolled his shoulder to ease the lingering sting, and to attempt to shake the small girl clutching his midsection.

"Almost, we have to wait for Zara," he nodded his head toward the stage where the girl was talking with Damien. Blaise groaned loudly.

"Well, I'd kindly appreciate it if she would hurry up so I don't famish from hunger!" He said, raising his voice near the end of his sentence intentionally so she could hear him, to which she responded with a middle finger without interrupting her conversation. He rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath, and turned to Hermione, extending his hand toward her. "Hermione fucking Granger…lady, you are something. Blaise Z-"

"Zabini," Hermione finished for him, taking his hand and giving it a polite shake, "We've met in passing, but never formally. Nice to meet you and Theo officially" she said nodding towards the other man coming up to stand with the group. Pansy cleared her throat loudly and turned up her nose haughtily at the brown-haired girl. "…and Pansy," Hermione added with a sigh, tossing her curls over her shoulder giving Pansy an intense look of her own.

"We're about to go out for a drink and some food. You should come along," said Theo just as Zara walked up behind the group, coming from talking to Damien.

"Thanks, but I'll have to take a rain check on that." Hermione laughed as the boys booed her answer. "I'm sorry! Next time, I promise! Sidebar…you ma'am!" She said pointing at Zara, who was standing near her chair playing with her phone. She didn't look up from her phone, but she raised her chin slightly to acknowledge she had Hermione. "Your shoe? Really?"

"I told you, it's a good thing!" Zara finished whatever she was doing and put the phone in her back pocket, looking up to the group. "You've never had that moment when someone is singing, like _siiinngggiinngg_ , and you just scrunch your face up and you just gotta throw something at them?"

"Uh…can't say I've ever had the desire to _throw_ something at someone, well not for good singing at least, but sure. Thanks," said Hermione, walking down the stairs to the main level. "Well, it's been a pleasure. I'll be going now…"

"Going to call Potter and what's-his-face? No ma'am, you're coming with us," Zara said, linking arms with Hermione. She looked over the girl's very casual outfit of a long-sleeved tunic, leggings, and Converse. "Well…we'll change clothes first. Then go."

Personally, Hermione found nothing wrong with her attire, but looking at the others around her who were a slight step above casual…maybe she needed to throw on a pair of boots and some eyeliner.

"We'll meet you all at Golden Snitch in a bit," Zara said. Blaise and Theo nodded and all but bolted out the door, Pansy dragging Draco by the hand behind her. Zara grabbed her half-brother's elbow right before he could walk past her, causing Pansy to jerk back suddenly. "Um, excuse me…"

"I need to talk to my brother." Whatever Pansy thought she was going to do, Zara's tone told her to walk away. Hermione took a few steps back to give them some privacy, though even from where she stood near the door of the auditorium she could still hear their conversation.

"So you're just going to ignore me?" Zara said, lowering her voice slightly as there were still some people lingering about the auditorium.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Draco looked down at the floor and put his hands in his pockets.

"Really? So you just decided you weren't going to show up this morning for our run? The one we've done for the past four years?"

"Overslept."

"Bullshit. You've never overslept in your entire life. Draco, I get it; Lucius and Narcissa…"

"No. You don't get it." Draco looked straight into Zara's eyes, and ice gray met ice gray for what felt like an hour. Zara broke eye contact first.

"Fine. See you Monday morning. Your turn to wash Princeton tomorrow."

Zara picked up her bag and walked off, tapping Hermione's arm gently when she walked by. Hermione looked over at Draco, whose head was still turned to where Zara had been standing, before turning to catch up with Zara.

"All right, Godric. Show me where you live so you can change and we can head out before they're too pissed to function."

* * *

 **So the song Hermione sang is "What Were We Thinking" x Joss Stone. Beautiful song by an amazing artist, you should definitely go listen to it if you've never heard it (or go listen to it again if you have!). As always, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! xoxo, Nova Porter**


	8. Chapter 8

**Good news: I got a job! It's part time, but it's something! WooHoo! Not-So-Great News: Updates may be less frequent as I'm still searching for full time employment. Ending with Really-Good-News: I know the story's going to end; ladies and gentlemen, we now have direction! Not entirely sure how many more chapters we're looking it, but I'm probably going to speed the timeline up slightly just so that there's more fun stuff to read about our favorite pair and our new favorite siblings. So without further ado, Chapter 8!**

 **Oh...still don't own HP. You saw I said I was looking for a full-time job right? xD**

* * *

Saturday night turned out better than Hermione expected. Sure, this audition-tradition-thing-whatever was absolutely ridiculous, but the after event turned out to be rather nice. After changing out of her well-worn Converse into some over-the-knee flat boots and throwing on some jewelry and makeup, Hermione rode with Zara to Golden Snitch to meet up with the others. The bar-lounge was a popular hangout spot for SIPA students and faculty, and was definitely on the higher end of "casual attire". While half of the bar had traditional tables, high tables and bar stools, there was a section near the front of the bar that had a common-area-in-a-lodge atmosphere. There was a fireplace on the far wall and mismatched couches, coffee tables, and chairs placed on the hardwood floor. By the time the girls arrived, the boys and Pansy had made themselves comfortable in their usual spot next to the fireplace and had already ordered their drinks and some appetizers for the table. The group enjoyed a night of eating, drinking, and good conversation and after a few hours, they decided to call it a night. Hermione and Zara seemed to begin a friendship of sorts, throwing jokes and sarcastic remarks to each other and their tablemates throughout the entire night. Hermione did ask about the brother comment she'd heard earlier that night during their drive- " _Half-brother, technically. Same father, different mothers, resulting in very different life scenarios."_ \- but they didn't discuss the relationship and the obvious tension within it any further that night. Hermione and Draco's relationship seemed to blossom as well; due to the way the boys and Pansy were sitting when they arrived, Zara sat in the remaining freestanding chair, which left Hermione to sit in between Draco and Theo on the couch (There may or may not have been some colluding in this seating arrangement, but the boys would never admit to it). At first Hermione was mindful of her arms and legs brushing against either boy next to her especially Draco, but as the night continued and the drinks flowed her rigid posture relaxed and there where moments where she found herself leaning against him. Some of those moments he had his arm draped over her shoulders, which did not go unnoticed by the others in the group.

While Hermione and Draco's relationship and Zara and Hermione's relationship separately began to grow, Draco and Zara struggled more. While Draco did hold up his responsibility of washing Princeton that Sunday, he didn't show for their run that Monday. Or Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Draco would either go before Zara left or after she returned, and their usual gym schedule changed for the same reason. It was difficult for Draco to put a finger on why he was avoiding her; the past four years were strange and stressful for the two of them but they always seemed to manage. For whatever reason, his parents officially divorcing made it difficult to continue simply managing. By the end of September, Narcissa had moved completely out of the family home and the divorce was finalized; Zara was surprised to see the woman get choked up when she said her goodbyes to Draco, considering how she had decided to break the news of the divorce the weeks prior. Lucius tried to keep the lines of communication open with his children concerning the divorce and anything else that may have been on their minds, but it seemed the more he tried to talk with them the more they pulled away. Well, the more Zara pulled away. Between Draco blatantly trying to avoid her and Lucius trying his damnedest to "make sure she was okay", she spent most of her time either by herself in practice rooms rehearsing recital pieces or out with friends from before she officially became a Malfoy. Maybe that's why she found herself hanging out with Hermione more often now. Yes, Hermione knew her as a Malfoy but not the full details about how and why she was a Malfoy. It was refreshing, in a sense. Hermione had invited her to come to the bar where she worked for Halloween, so Zara spent the day scanning Pinterest for last minute costume ideas. And maybe that friend of hers (Gary? Barry…Harry, that was it) would be there too..

* * *

 _Hey._

 _Shush, pay attention._

 _Hey. Hey. Hey._

 _Draco…_

 _Heeeyyyyyyy :D_

 _You're childish._

 _You like it ;)_

 _Pay. Attention._

 _Says the girl who's blatantly online shopping during class…someone has rather sensual taste in lingerie :o_

Hermione sent Draco a quick glare over her shoulder, and silently thanked God and every other higher power she could think of for blessing her with long, thick, curly hair that hid the blush rushing up her neck and face. She quickly minimized her web browser before responding to his text.

 _It's called multitasking… and you're a creep._

 _LOL right "multitasking"…if that helps you sleep at night, sweetheart._ _And I'm offended you'd call me a creep._

 _We've already established that you're a stalker. Why not add 'creep' to the list?_

 _And don't call me sweetheart._

 _What are you doing for Halloween sweetheart?_

 _Punching you in the nose if you call me sweetheart again :p_ _Otherwise, I'll be working. Halloween's one of our busy nights._

 _Remind me where you work again?_

 _Bartender at Jukebox Bar and Karaoke_

 _Never heard of it_

 _Near Godric._ _Why, what's happening Halloween?_

 _Oh nothing, I was going-_

"Alright, I'll see you all next Tuesday. Have a great weekend," Professor Flitwick announced. Students began to shuffle around, packing away laptops and notebooks while talking to their friends and classmate. Hermione slid her laptop into her backpack before turning around towards Draco who was already walking down from his seat to meet her.

"You were saying?"

"I was going to invite you to bar hop with us Halloween night, but alas, it seems you already have plans."

"Indeed, I do. You all should come, though; I think you'd enjoy it. Zara said she'd come. I think she's interested in my friend Harry; he surely keeps asking about her since he saw her on my FaceTime call the other night…"

"Can't say I've ever been a karaoke person," Draco said, interrupting her trail of thought for multiple reasons. A) He had no idea who this Harry was so he didn't quite care about his interest in his half-sister and B) he still was actively avoiding said half-sister for reasons still unknown to him so he really didn't want to bring her up in conversation. He grabbed their drinks, handing Hermione her standard chai tea latte; the pair had made a habit on Thursdays of stopping by the student café for their usual hot drinks and going to Hermione's dormitory to study.

"Oh, come on. Everyone's gonna be in costumes, there's a few drink specials, and it's just a bunch of Godric kids having fun. You'd get to meet Ron and Harry, Ginny's going to be in town for the weekend…"

"And while this all sounds lovely," Draco interrupted, holding the door to Hermione's building open for her to pass through, "the karaoke bit would literally drive me mental."

Hermione shrugged nonchalantly, taking a sip of her latte as the elevator doors opened. She pushed the button for her floor. "I get it. The prince of SIPA is afraid to step down from his throne in the event he's not actually the greatest…" Hermione jumped off the elevator right before Draco could catch her, her giggles trailing behind her as she jogged to her door with her keys in hand.

"Oh fuck off," Draco said playfully, closing the door behind them. "And I'm not the _prince_ of SIPA….I'm the _king_."

"No, darling, that would be your father. You're his son, so that makes you and Zara the prince and princess." Hermione had walked into the bathroom to change clothes, so she missed Draco shifting uncomfortable on the couch at the mention of Zara. The moment had passed by the time she had come out of the bathroom in her black yoga shorts and Godric off the shoulder sweatshirt.

"I swear I'm going to burn that thing," Draco commented, taking in the curve of Hermione's backside and she bent to get something from her refrigerator. He immediately pretended to be looking at his phone when she turned around with a bowl of grapes in hand.

"Touch my sweatshirt, Malfoy, and I can guarantee that my fist will promptly meet your nose."

"Violence is never the answer, sweetheart."

"It is when you call me sweetheart."

Draco attempted to give Hermione his best puppy dog eyes, which resulted in a half-hearted swat to his shoulder.

"Homework, sir," Hermione said with a smile, pointing to his backpack and grabbing a handful of grapes before opening her own laptop. Draco smirked before doing as he was told, reaching into his bag (which just happened to be next to Hermione's legs and yes, they were as smooth up close as they looked from afar) for his own laptop. He had decided a while ago that he liked messing with the brunette; she wasn't fazed by his petty jokes and she was ready to throw her own in the mix to keep the conversation interesting. If anything, being with Hermione provided a lovely distraction from his currently family drama.

* * *

 **I'll be honest, it's not my favorite chapter but it gives some direction of where we're heading in the future. Don't forget to review! Tell me what you like, don't like, what you want to see/hope to see, etc. xoxo, Nova Porter**


	9. Chapter 9

**Don't think I have any disclaimers for this chapter...except, of course, I don't own anything HP related. So here goes Chapter 9!**

* * *

It's always fun when Halloween falls on a Saturday; that means you can party for longer and there's a full day to recover before having to be a real adult again on Monday (or maybe you're not into that; whatever the case, we don't judge here). Saturday morning, though, was all business and started with a meeting between Zara and her advisor Severus Snape, who also happened to be her and Draco's godfather.

"Where's your brother?" Snape drawled, not looking up from the morning paper when he heard his office door open. Zara rolled her eyes as she shut the door with her foot, being mindful to balance the two full coffee cups and bags of food in her hands.

"It's hilarious that you think I would know the answer to that," she said, placing the items on the desk organizing them accordingly as she rattled of the food and drinks in her hands. "Alright Severus, two sausage rolls and a fresh brewed hot coffee for you, and a fry-up, no mushrooms, and an iced coffee with extra cream and sugar for me." The dark-haired man with the permanent scowl snapped his eyes from the paper to his hands to the food in front of him to the girl getting settled in her seat across from him. She caught his eye as she opened the box of food in front of her.

"What? I made sure to get a black coffee. Black like your soul, Sevvy," she said in an annoyingly kind tone before taking a bite of her own meal.

It wasn't that Severus disliked his goddaughter; she just knew how to push his buttons in a way that truly no one else could. She was an irritating little thing, and yet he felt oddly protective of her. Snape had known Lucius for many years prior to his marrying Narcissa, so he was around and well aware of the affair and its aftermath. Though a silent man with brooding aura, he was quite observant and in the years that followed the affair, he watched as his godchildren grew older and noticed, with a childlike wonder, how their features mirrored each other. He watched the two become fiercely protective of each other despite having questions and confusions about the obvious similarities, and (though he would never admit it out loud) it hurt to see their strong bond seemingly deteriorate over the past four years especially within the past month. It's part of the reason he would ask them "where's your brother/sister?" whenever he saw them. Though she was a pain, Zara did have the ability to be a sweetheart; Snape only needed to get a whiff of the rolls and coffee to know it was from his favorite pub in the city. Of course, he wouldn't give his reputation away by showing any sign of emotion.

"It would behoove you to refer to be as Professor Snape in academic settings, Ms. Taylor-Malfoy," he sneered, taking a sip of coffee. Oh dear God, it really _was_ fresh-brewed.

"It's Saturday and no one's around to care," Zara said, not bothering to look up from her food, "Speaking of, why'd you insist meeting on a Saturday morning as opposed to a regular school day?"

"Have you given any thought to your plans after SIPA?" He went on, ignoring her question.

Zara shrugged, sipping her iced coffee. "Moving out."

"And how do you plan to afford yourself?"

"Working."

"Working where and doing what?"

"Severus."

"Zara."

Zara took another bite of food and mumbled out, "Again, why did this need to be discussed on a Saturday morning as opposed to a school day?"

Severus broke off the end of one of the rolls, popping it in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully contemplating his answer. "Zara," he said slowly after swallowing, "I've sent you a number of emails throughout the month to meet with you. Had I not run into you leaving the practice room last night, I doubt you would've ever responded."

Zara leaned back in her chair, taking a lazy sip from her drink and crossing her legs at the knees. After a short storing contest between the two, she mumbled, "You may or may not be right in your assumptions."

Severus sighed, taking another bite of the flaky pastry. "Okay Zara. Work with me here," he said, a rare moment where he spoke compassionately rather than with passive irradiation, "Your father's concerned about you, and I'll be damned if I have to hear the man go on about it."

"Wow, you're a real friend," Zara replied sarcastically, still not making eye contact with the man. Severus exhaled deeply. Again, it wasn't that he _disliked_ the girl, but dear God he was not jealous of Lucius in this particular moment.

"My point is," it was going to kill him being this nice for so long, "you're incredibly talented and certainly have your mother's gift for piano." Zara looked up at the mention of her mother. "And despite your prickly, temperamental exterior, you have an amazing ability to care for others. Surely there's a way to use both in your future, yes?"

Zara gnawed on her straw, her crossed leg bouncing with nervous energy. It was rare Severus when relatively kind, and even rarer to hear him speak about her mother. It wasn't a secret that Severus knew the woman as she was formerly Lucius' accompanist so naturally they had met prior to everything, but that was usually were the period in the conversation ended. And, if she were being truthful, it was nice to hear her godfather say she had her mother's musical gift and talent. The two sat in silence for about three minutes, finishing up their meals, and eventually Zara spoke up.

"I promise to start giving it more thought," she said quietly, still chewing the end of her straw.

"That's all I ask. We'll meet again over winter holiday before or after you father's Yule gala," Severus replied. He leaned back in his chair and picked up the paper he had been reading prior to her arrival, signaling the conversation was over and she was free to go. Zara stood, dumped her empty food container in the bag it came it, and made to leave the office. But first…

"You're in charge of food next time, Sevvy." Severus didn't even get a chance to respond before Zara had shut the door behind her. No, he didn't dislike her, but he may or may not have wanted to strangle her at times. Now, being one of them.

* * *

Hermione tightened her pigtails before checking her reflection one more time in the bathroom mirror at Jukebox, analyzing every angle of her costume. She and the other bartenders and servers, Lavender, Pavarti and her twin sister Padma, initially thought it would be funny to dress-up as different drinks and mixers for Halloween (because they're bartenders, get it? Drinks and mixers?), but after Lavender found a pink and sparkly Glinda the Good Witch costume that she wasn't too willing to part with, the other three girls had to make some adjustments. Pavarti and Padma still went with the drink and mixer costume, Parvarti as "Jack" in a black bodycon dress designed as the Jack Daniels bottle label and Padma as "Coke" in a similar dress except naturally it was red with the Coke label. Hermione opted to dress up as Harley Quinn, not so much because she was a big fan of the character (she was fascinating, sure, but that's about where it ended for Hermione), but because she had a lot of black and red in her closet and she didn't want to spend excess money on a costume. For only relying on Google image searches of the character and what was in her closet, Hermione was pretty damn proud of herself. She had found a half red-half black long sleeve crop top in the back of one of her drawers which she paired with the shortest black shorts she could find, fishnet tights, and combat boots because she _was_ a bartender and didn't want for her feet to fall off due to pain halfway through her shift. Apparently the character now took on a 'blue-and-red' theme as opposed to the 'black-and-red' of older version, but Hermione had black and red and to hell if anyone gave her shit about it. Her hair was in pigtails with the ends temporarily dyed black and red, and finished the costume with a very dramatized smoky-eye and blood red lipstick. She added some of the newer features of the character by free-handing the small heart and 'Rotten' tattoos to her face. Hermione took one last look- ' _Hell yea, you go Hermione' she mentally patted herself on the back_ \- before joining the rest of her team in the bar. They had spent the day decorating the space in the usual Halloween trimmings, doing inventory checks, and bar prep to make sure the night ran smoothly. Denise, the general manager, thought it would be a fun, promotional idea to post pictures of the staff in costume on the bar's Instagram page. Hermione felt her insides slightly crumble because this outfit should never see the light of day, but it was Halloween so what the hell; she gave her most Harley Quinn-esque poses (Google Image and Pinterest are life savers, truly) and giggled with her friends and coworkers while they finished up setting up for the night.

Draco told Blaise, Theo, and Pansy about the change of plans- Pansy had "politely" declined and he honestly wasn't bent out to shape about it- and now he was struggling to find a costume. Blaise and Theo were the ones who liked to do the costume thing where as Draco prefers something he could comfortable drink in. The way Hermione talked about this thing tonight where she worked made it seem like he would stand out like a sore thumb if he didn't come in costume, so he looked to see what he could put together quickly. He'd come across a plain black mask from some masked ball from years ago with his parents, and he was contemplating wearing all black and going as a shadow. Normally, Draco would ask Zara for help and the two of them together would come up with something, but…well, you know why that wasn't going to happen. He fell gracelessly on his bed, taking his phone off the charger and began mindlessly scrolling through his Instagram page. At some point, Princeton, who had been spending a lot of time in Draco's room as of late, had wandered in and Draco sat up to scratch behind the dog's ear after the puppy had whined and pawed at him to get his attention. He continued to stroll until he came across Jukebox's page and stood up suddenly, causing Princeton to jump and bark a little at the unexpected movement.

"Sorry, buddy," he mumbled, a smirk growing on his face as an idea formulated in his head. He checked the time, sent a text to Blaise to buy some green hairspray and bring it to the house, and went to get dressed.

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 **To be honest, I was slightly nervous with the mentions of Instagram, Pinterest, and other things like that. It's obvious the story takes place in 2016 and in a very alternate universe from Hogwarts, and I do reference to current social and pop culture things happening, but I don't want the references to feel like overkill or obnoxious. How's it feeling to you all? Thoughts? Suggestions? And of course, your general and overall reviews are appreciated and loved! I read one recently that said this story was a "breath of fresh air"; it made me warm and fuzzy on the inside :) Until next time...xoxo, Nova Porter**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the long hiatus! Between starting my first week at my new job and a severe case of writer's block, this chapter was tough. But with perseverance and dedication, I give to you Chapter 10! (And I definitely still own ZERO Harry Potter related things...darn.)**

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Having an abundance of black clothing turned out to work in Zara's favor; a black hooded cape, wand and wand holster, and a broomstick borrowed from the theatre department- don't tell Lucius- paired with a black dress and some knee high boots and you're a witch. Combined with her grey eyes, that seemed to stand out more than usual under heavy black eye liner and mascara-coated lashes, and blonde stripe in her jet black hair, it was as if being born a Malfoy naturally set her up to be the perfect witch. She finished paying her cab driver and made her way into the establishment amongst the other witches, ghosts, pumpkins, and….was that an oompa loompa? Zara took her time getting to the bar to take a moment to take in her surroundings. There were a group of girls dressed as the Spice Girls currently on stage performing a Spice Girls song and the majority of patrons where facing the stage dancing, singing, and cheering them along. Others were at the bar where Glinda the Good Witch and Harley Quinn- 'oh shit, come on Hermione with this Harley costume!'- were making and serving drinks at an impressive rate. Noticing a doorway in the back, Zara made her way through the crowd to see what was on the other side. After crossing a short hallway of restrooms and a small kitchen, the other room was a similar size as the other, but had a dance floor and a raised DJ booth in the corner with four or five booths lining the wall. There were a few people sitting and dancing out here- 'awe, ketchup and mustard, how cute…'- and Zara figured as the night went on more people would find their way out here. She figured it was time to head to the bar and get her first drink of the night, and she was vaguely aware of someone stepping out of one of the restrooms until said someone said her name and grabbed her hand.

"Hi Theo," she said, hugging her friend and pulling back to get a full look at costume, "Mmmm…Beauty and the Beast?" she asked running her hands down the arms of the royal blue waistcoat.

"His name is technically Adam, but yes. A little classic Disney never hurt anyone," he said, doing a full turn to give Zara the full view of his ensemble. Zara nodded approvingly, giving him a round of applause.

"You stole that from the musical theatre department, didn't you?"

"The same way you stole that cape, broom, and wand," Theo smirked at her, "at least I'll be actually wearing this costume in a few week." He took her hand and started leading her towards the bar. "Come, my dear. We need some shots!"

Zara allowed the brown-haired young man to lead her through the crowd. If she had to pick between Theo and Blaise to spend one on one time with, she preferred Theo. Both boys had always been kind to her, but Blaise had to ability to be the most obnoxious prick at times and Zara didn't always have the patience for his antics. Theo had his moments of obnoxious prick-headedness, but they weren't as frequent and usually didn't last for long periods of time. The duo walked to the side of the bar where Hermione was currently serving a woman with bright red hair and a green leotard covered in fake leaves and vines. Hermione looked up as Zara and Theo approached and made a show of extending her hand to them.

"Harley Quinn, nice ta meet ya!" she said, imitating the character's accent. Both Zara and Theo laughed and shook her hand, playing along. "What can I get ya, puddin'?"

"Well, Miss Quinn," Theo said, putting on what Zara had years ago deemed his "theatre voice" which sent said girl into another fit of laughter, "it would seem that my friend and I are interested in some beverages of the alcoholic variety. Any suggestions?"

Hermione laughed as she quickly wiped down the bar top. "Well that all depends on what you want," she answered, dropping the accent to return to her regular speaking voice, "are you looking for a cocktail, a beer, shots..?"

"Tequila shots please!" Zara exclaimed; the redhead cheered next to her and the two exchanged a high five.

"We actually do have a Halloween-themed tequila shot for the evening, so I shall get right on that…oh, before that," Hermione backtracked, "Theo and Zara, this is my best friend Ginny Weasely," she said pointing to the redhead in the green leotard, "her brother and my friend Ron and our other friend Harry are somewhere in that crowd. They'll make their way back when they need refills."

Hermione waved absently as she walked away to grab the glasses and ingredients for the drinks. Zara turned to Ginny Weasely.

"Nice to meet you, Ginny; always a pleasure to be among other tequila enthusiast."

"Likewise," Ginny replied with a smile, "By the way, I love your costume! It's subtle but still recognizable. And the blonde hair extensions and gray contacts are brilliant, especially with your skin tone!"

Zara chuckled nervously, glancing quickly at Theo who was hiding his amused smile behind his hand. "Thanks, amazing what a black dress can turn into, isn't it? Though, I hate to ruin your fun by admitting that this is indeed my natural eye and hair color."

"Really?" Ginny seemed genuinely shocked. "Huh…how about that? Well, everyone's asked me where I got my Poison Ivy wig all night, and I'm a natural red head so looks like we're having the same problem tonight."

Zara didn't get the chance to respond before Hermione was back with three shot glasses in one hand and shaking a mixer with the other. She placed the glasses next to each other, replaced the lid of the mixer with a strainer, and poured the amber mixture evenly into each glass. "And here we are…three Liquid Lucks. And because I like you three, these will be on the house. I'll be right back."

Hermione turned her attention to serve the small group that appeared at the bar next to her friends, and Theo slipped a substantial tip into her apron pocket to cover the drinks. The three toasted to good health and a good night, and knocked their shots back in one go. Hermione had to be their top bartender because the shot went down incredibly smooth and was very tasty. Hermione was just making her way back to Ginny, Theo, and Zara, who ordered another round of shots and three beers, when a warlock with bright red hair and a messy black haired Clark Kent walked over to the group placing empty pint glasses on the bar top.

"Another round for everyone!" The warlock exclaimed, the large sleeves of his purple robes falling down his arms as he raised them in the air. He was very clearly intoxicated and Hermione seemed to recognize this as she slid him a glass of water. "No more until you finish the water," she said to him ignoring his pouts and protests. He dramatically leaned against Ginny, who all but pushed him onto the floor and flipped her matching red locks over her shoulder. "My brother, Ron. I promise he's not usually this weird."

"Yea, we sort of met over FaceTime," Zara said, watching in amusement as Ron deciding that Theo was now his new best friend, "him and the other one." The messy black haired Clark Kent reached past Zara to grab his drink at the same moment she reached back to get her shot and beer.

"Nice to finally meet you in person, Ms. Malfoy."

" _Taylor_ -Malfoy. Get it right or we have no reason to continue this conversation, Mr. Potter," Zara retorted, knocking back the second shot. She didn't necessarily intend for it come across so mean, but she wasn't going to let that mistake slide twice. No matter how adorable she thought he was.

"Duly noted," he said, raised his drink to her with a wink. Zara attempted to remain straight faced at his obvious flirting, but a small smirk developed and she felt herself start to blush as she toasted her drink with his. It was moments like the she wished had inherited more of her mother's brown skin so that when she blushed, it wouldn't be as noticeable.

By the time Draco and Blaise arrived to the bar, which was much later than they planned due to some issue with the requested green hair color, Zara had gotten very comfortable with Harry to the point where she was leaning against him as he sat on one of the bar stools with his arm around her waist. Theo and Ginny were sitting at a nearby table where Ron was half-sleep with his head resting in his cradled arms on the table. Ginny had thrown her head back laughing at something Theo had said, sending her red locks over the back of her chair. Draco left Blaise to his own devices and made his way to the bar to find Hermione. Her back was facing him as she was taking care of a tab, so Draco found an empty spot at the bar and waited for her to turn around. Hermione had to take a moment to gather herself after initial seeing him with the tousled green hair, white face paint, and jagged, painted red smile. After giving the customer his change and pocketing the tip he gave her, she made her way over to Draco.

"Either this is a very specific coincidence, or you're continuing to stalk me," she said, resting her elbow on the counter with her chin in her palm.

"You've got to stop saying I'm stalking you, my dear," Draco replied, reaching out to twirl one of her pigtails around his finger, "people will worry. But…I may or may not have gotten some inspiration after scrolling past the bar's Instagram page."

"Glad I could be your muse for the evening," Hermione said, standing up and wiping her hands on the towel hanging from her hip, "so what can I get ya, puddin'? You made just in time for last call."

Draco ordered a whisky and coke that he downed quickly before ordering another, sipping it at a much slower pace. It was obvious that Hermione was a crowd favorite, both as a bartender and a karaoke performer as many of the people closing asked her if she was going to sing something tonight. At one point, Hermione tried to throw it back to Draco- "I'll sing if he does!"- to which he snorted and took another healthy sip of his drink. He did, however, choose to play along when people mentioned how cute Hermione and her boyfriend looked in their couples' costume; Hermione would just blush furiously and talk about it simply being a coincidence. Before long, her shift was over and Juke Box was all but empty outside of their friend group and a few extra people. They waited for Hermione finished cleaning with her coworkers before leaving the bar around 1:30am. Ginny and Theo had become fast friends and wanted to see if there were other bars or clubs still open; Blaise tagged with their team because he was still ready to party having arrived to JukeBox late. It was evident that Ron needed to go home, and Harry being the great friend that he was called it a night and waved down a cab for the two of them. He did make a point to exchanged numbers with Zara, who was a little giggly and wobbly by the end of her night, and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek asking her to let him know when she got home. Hermione noticed Draco's eyes squint slightly at the public display of affection, and laughed to herself before tucking herself under his arm.

"So, where to next, puddin'?"

Draco draped his arm over her shoulders, making sure this black-haired boy got in the taxi and drove off before turning his attention to the brunette under his arm. "Well…I think Zara should probably head home because she's looking a little…"

The girl in question skipped over to the pair (Draco had never seen Zara skip before in life so this was an odd thing to witness), grabbing Hermione's other arm and draping it over her shoulders.

"So are we going with _*hiccup!*_ Theo and them? Maybe after Har _*hiccup!*_ ry gets Ron settled, he can meet us?"

Hermione tried not to laugh despite how cute tipsy-Zara was. "Sweetheart, I think you, Draco, and I are going to head back towards home. We'll try to see Harry again another time."

Zara pouted a little bit, but ultimately waved goodbye to the others as they set off for their next stop of the evening. Hermione had driven since she had to be there so early, so the three of them piled into her car and drove back to campus. Zara had fallen asleep in the backseat within five minutes giving Draco and Hermione some time to themselves.

"I still don't understand why you wouldn't get up there to sing _one_ song," Hermione said at one point.

"I told you I don't do karaoke."

 _"I told you I don't do karaoke blah blah blah_ ," Hermione teased, "we've been together for going on three months and I haven't heard one note out of you. I'm starting to think you only got in because you're the headmaster's son."

For a moment, Hermione thought she had overstepped with her joke because Draco had go very quiet. She was about to apologize when she happened to glance over at him and noticed he was smiling. Now she was confused.

"Did I miss something?"

"…so we're together now?"

"You're not funny," Hermione said after a beat, fighting a smile.

"I'll sing for you one day, Harley baby," he said softly, leaning his head back against the seat and shutting his eyes. Hermione stopped trying to fight to small smile that appeared on her face. She dropped Draco and Zara off at their home, and Draco opted to carry Zara inside as opposed to trying to wake her up.

"Let me know when you're in, alright?" he asked after Hermione helped him open the front door. She nodded, placing the keys in his pocket. He looked into her eyes and for a moment, Hermione thought he was going to try to kiss her but instead gave her a gentle kiss on her temple. Wishing each other tonight, she closed the door and went back to her car. Hermione should have been annoyed by the green dye Draco accidently left on her passenger seat, but she was too busy feeling giddy about the kiss to her temple.

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 **Next few chapters, things are going to start getting far more interesting between our couple and our "twins". Keep your reviews coming; they are incredibly helpful! Until next time, xoxo Nova Porter**


	11. Chapter 11

**For once, I'm on it with my chapter update! Yay!**

 **Also, a Guest reviewer noted that I made a typo in the last chapter where 'Harley' Quinn became 'Hayley' Quinn. So while I don't own the HP characters or 'Harley' Quinn, I can say that Zara and 'Hayley' are complete mine...even if one of them was created by mistake. :)**

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Zara didn't think she drank that much the night before, but the raging headache she had when she woke up the next morning told her otherwise. She remembered the end of the night and everyone going their separate ways, and she pseudo-remembered getting into Hermione's car heading back home. She thought she remembered Draco carrying her in the house, but she had a tough time believing that actually happening. Groggily, she pushed herself up and tried to swing her legs around the side of the bed but miscalculated and ended up on the floor, her jet-black hair falling into her face. The fall certainly wasn't helpful to her headache so it took a few seconds for Zara to get her wits about her before standing up. She had knocked over her small trash bin on the way down, so she tried to bend over to pick it up to put back in its proper place…which was usually near her desk on the opposite wall, not her bed. So how'd that get there? Huh…at some point in the night, Zara must have felt like she was going to vomit. Yea, that would explain the bin being near her bed. She stumbled her way into her bathroom, shedding clothes along the way, and wrapped herself in a towel. Zara didn't bother looking in the bathroom mirror as she turned the water to her sink on; if she went to sleep without changing her clothes, nine out of ten she didn't take her makeup off either and she didn't need to see her drunken raccoon eyes without splashing some water on her face first. Zara fully expected to see black and brown water droplets fall from her face as last night's makeup was rinsed away, so imagine her shock to find the water that hit the bowl completely clear. She dabbed her face dry with the towel around her body (noting that the towel had zero makeup smudges) and finally looked in the mirror to see that, in fact, her face was completely bare of any and all traces of makeup from the night before. Now, Zara had a list of things she had to do before she want to be every night: put on her pajama set (this week's was black and grey tank top and shorts with white stars) wash her face, brush her teeth, and wrap her hair in her satin scarf to preserve its straightness. She woke up with her hair all over her face, morning breath was an understatement, and she had been in her dress and tights (but not the cape, she just realized…shit, she'd have to find that) so she just assumed that her makeup would still be on. But alas, here she was, as bare-faced as the day she was born. Zara kept going through the possible scenarios of what could've happened in her head while she brushed her teeth and still couldn't come up with anything plausible by the time she was done. She was going to call it quits and just assume habit kicked in, when she finally noticed the note written in dry erase marker across the far-right mirror that she barely used.

 _Zara,_

 _Managed to get your makeup off even though you tried to bite me, but couldn't figure out how you do your hair thing and attempted to at least pull it back but you kept moving away from me. Left a glass of water and some aspirin on your nightstand in case you need it._

 _Draco_

Draco…really? Zara found herself asking this question more than once while she washed her hair in the shower. Consider the past month was met with little to no communication, it was a shock that he helped her so much last night. Even though she apparently tried to bite him. She was grateful, yes, but also incredibly confused and this confusion sat in her stomach even after she finished her shower, dressed for the day in a casual t-shirt dress, took the aspirin Draco had left for her, and walked downstairs to the kitchen with her wet hair still wrapped in a towel. The house was pretty quiet so she assumed Draco was out with the dog and Lucius was either in his study, in his room, or not currently in the house. She made herself a cup of tea and toast with butter. Finding her phone charging on the kitchen counter, Zara sat at the kitchen table (one leg perched in the seat with her chin resting on her knee as she tended to do), sipping her tea and nibbling her toast while checking her social media and responding to texts messages from Hermione and Harry, making sure she was settled. She was in the middle of responding to Harry's text- _'I hope you get in safe, Ms. Taylor-Malfoy'_ -when she heard a door open and the jingle of a dog collar move through the house into the kitchen. Princeton walked right up to Zara and placed his head into her lap, waiting for ear scratches.

"You're so spoiled," Zara said with a smile, reaching down to scratch the pup with both hands behind the ears. She glanced up when she saw Draco walk in, still sweaty from running and still had his headphones in, so it took a while for it to register that Zara was trying to get his attention. It was only when one of his earbuds fell out as he grabbed an apple from the refrigerator that he heard, "-CO LU-CIUS MAL-FOY!"

"Sorry, come again?"

"I was asking why you plugged my phone into the kitchen rather than my room?"

"Oh," he bit into his apple, "You had left your purse down here so it was just easiest."

"Oh." They sat in silence for what felt like an hour, the only sound in the kitchen was Princeton's rather loud panting. Zara got up from her seat to fill his water bowl.

"What is that?"

"What is what?" Zara continued her task of filling Princeton's water bowl, setting it down in its place in the kitchen. "Here you go, Flufferbutt…"

"On your leg."

"What's on my leg?" Zara started swatting at her legs, thinking there was a bug or something just as unpleasant.

"No, no…your thigh. At the hem of your dress thing."

"Oh, you mean this?" Zara lifted her dress, displaying an odd-looking tattoo of a triangle encompassing a circle with a vertical line down the middle on her upper thigh. Draco took another bite of his apple and simply looked at the tattoo.

"When'd you get that one?"

"Maybe two weeks ago, give or take."

Another bite. "Dad know?"

"Maybe. Probably not."

Another bite and a nod. "Okay…well, I'm going to shower and do homework."

"I saw your note…thanks for-well, just thank you."

Draco finished his apple and tossed it in the nearby garbage bin. "After living with someone for almost five years, and knowing them for longer, you tend to figure out their habits and patterns." He started to walk out the kitchen.

"I could always teach you how I wrap my hair. Just in case for next time."

"Sounds complicated."

She didn't have to look at his face to know he was smirking in amusement at the back and forth. For a moment, things felt normal between the siblings.

* * *

"When are you going to sing for me?"

"Granger…you've been going on about this for the past month."

"I just don't understand how we're the same major, even taking a class together, and I haven't heard this supposed voice of yours."

"Do you bother Zara this much about it?"

"I've already heard her play. We share a practice room sometimes; she's helped me with some of my pieces."

"You know she sings too, right?"

"Stop trying to divert the conversation, Malfoy."

"You're bossy."

Draco's kiss to Hermione's temple on Halloween seemed to have broken the physical barrier between them. The pair was sitting on her bed, Hermione at the head with her legs draped over Draco's lap who was sitting in the center with his back against the wall; they were sitting in a comfortable silence working on their separate assignments before Hermione started up her now-daily questioning about his vocal abilities.

"I just don't understand how it's almost December, and I haven't heard one note. Not one. Help me understand, Draco."

Draco rolled his eyes and shut the book he was reading. He shifted so that he was lying next to the curly brunette, resting his head in her lap purposefully blocking her view of the sheet music she had be looking at.

"What are your plans for the holidays?"

"You're diverting again. And you're in the way."

He gently pinched her leg. "Answer the question, woman."

Hermione scrunched her nose at him, but still put the music on the floor next to her bad and began running her fingers through his blond locks. His satisfied hums sent shivers through her. "Probably go to Australia with my parents like we usually do. Then come back and probably work New Year's Eve."

"Maybe you'd want to accompany me to my family's annual Yule ball? You'll get to see us on our best behavior as we put on the performance of a century."

Hermione laughed softly. "Draco, play nice. It can't be that bad…"

"You haven't seen my family interact outside of this place; it can definitely be that bad."

"And that lovely description _absolutely_ makes me want to join you for this affair."

Draco's eyes started to droop as Hermione continued to run her fingers through his hair. "Zara would want you there, I think. You'll probably be able to bring your friends, and you'll get to wear a…pretty red dress..."

Hermione looked down at him due to the sudden dragging of his words and notices he was falling asleep. She slipped his head from her lap ("Oh hush, I'll be right back," she said when he started whining) and tidied up a bit before turning off the lights and snuggling back in bed with him. He pulled her close to him as soon as she hit the bed again.

"So clingy," she muttered with a playful, teasing tone; he shushed her and wrapped his arm tighter around her middle. "And who said I'd wear a red dress?"

"You look pretty in red. Now shush," he kissed her exposed shoulder due to her tank top, "sleep time."

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 **So sweet, so fluffy. All the reviews, followers, and favorites continue to make my heart happy. And thank you to those who wished my well wishes on the new job :)**

 **Until next time, xoxo Nova Porter**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 up and ready! Apologizes for the long delay between posting; hope you enjoy!**

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Zara learned a lot about Harry Potter in the month and some change they started dating. He was raised in Little Whinging by a not-so-pleasant aunt and uncle, he earned a full academic scholarship to Godric, he was studying abnormal psychology and wanted to go into a career as a criminal forensic psychologist, and he was part of the reason Zara was sitting in her meeting with Severus discussing the possibility of pursuing a degree in music therapy.

"I thought you wanted to pursue piano performance full time," he commented, looking over the information she presented him during their meeting. Zara sat across from him, munching on the buttered toasted and eggs Severus brought for her.

"Still do," she said, politely covering her mouth as she spoke, "but I thought about what you said during our last sit down, one of your rare moments of open kindness, and I talked about the whole thing with a friend and he suggested I look into music therapy in addition to becoming a full time pianist."

Severus nodded silently, continuing to read through the papers. "Well…it looks like you better get a move on if you're wanting to start next year. Some of these deadlines are coming up pretty soon."

"Yes, OR option two: I take a year off and work here as an accompanist or teaching assistant while taking some psychology classes then apply next year." She took the last bite of toast and dusted her hands of crumbs. Severus looked over the papers once more (at this point, he was doing it for show; he had pretty much memorized what was on each sheet about the programs) before sliding them back to his goddaughter.

"Sounds like you have a solid plan, Ms. Taylor-Malfoy."

Zara smiled and packed her things. She had her hand on the doorknob when Severus asked his usual question of her half-brother's whereabouts.

"Either with Hermione 'studying'- he says they really are studying but I refuse to believe that- or helping Lucius with something for that stupid gala…"

"Hmm…wait, you actually know where he is?"

"Not exactly, but those would be my two guesses."

Severus's surprise almost made it into a facial expression, and Severus wasn't the only person who noticed the shift in Draco and Zara's interactions. Ever since their "talk", it was almost as if the two were back to how they were four years ago. They were working out together again, playing with Princeton in between classes and practice…Lucius had asked them about getting together some students to help with the musical aspects, and Zara made some joke that ended in Draco giving her a side hug. _A side hug_. Lucius couldn't remember the last time his children gave each other a handshake, let alone a hug. Mind you, neither of them looked entirely comfortable with the physical contact, but it was still a hug. Even Hermione, who still didn't quite understand the full extent of the fractured relationship and she accepted that she probably never would, noticed a change between the half-siblings; though, if you asked her, Zara's shift in attitude had more to do with her dear Godric friend, Harry Potter.

"You know, Harry's really looking forward to the gala this weekend," she commented while she as Zara browsed a local boutique to dress shop for the upcoming affair. They had made plans to shop before the holiday break, but between finals, Zara getting caught up in organizing music for the gala, and Hermione's family trip, time just slipped away. Hermione arrived back a few days earlier that week, and the girls were finally able to get their shopping done. Zara noted Hermione's familiar-looking smirk when she looked up for the dress she had been looking at.

"You've been hanging around Draco too much; you're starting to smirk like him," Zara replied, laughing to herself at the blush now rising over Hermione's face.

"We're just friends," Hermione said, ignoring Zara overtly rolling her eyes and moving to another rack in the store.

"Don't insult my intelligence like that, Godric."

Hermione laughed nervously, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. I mean, technically she and Draco _were_ just friends. Yes, they'd slept next to each other on more than one occasion, and sure, they spent a significant amount of time together and flirted with each other on a regular basis, but they haven't kissed ever…though they may have come close a few times. It was complicated.

"You're making this far more complicated than it has to be," Zara said, as if reading the brunette's mind, "are you attracted to each other? Yes. Do you like spending time with each other? Yes. Would you both bone each other if given the opportunity? Yes- oh don't look at me like that. It's cute, it really is, but there's absolutely no reason for this little game of whatever you two are playing."

"Let's go back to Harry being exciting about this weekend, hmm?" Hermione flipped the attention back to her biracial friend, "How's that been going?"

"Surprisingly well. For whatever reason, your friend seems to think I'm a nice person and I'm trying to decide if he's just one of those people who always sees the glass as half full or if he's a glutton for punishment."

"Harry has an overall tendency to be a glass-half-full person," Hermione started, adding another red dress to her dressing room, "but that has nothing to do with him seeing you as a nice person because you are nice person."

"Aww Godric, I think I might shed a tear," Zara said sarcastically, but threw her arms over Hermione's shoulders from behind to give her a very genuine hug, "you're not too bad yourself."

They headed to the dressing rooms to get through this grueling processes of trying on gowns. Both Zara and Hermione enjoyed shopping, so browsing the racks was lovely; however, both detested actually trying on clothes so the processing of getting in and out of the gowns was torture. Having already been to three other shops, they were more than happy to over and done with it all.

"Is there a particular reason why all your dress picks have been red or have red details to it? Is this a Godric thing?" Zara noted after seeing Hermione in yet another red dress, this one with a sequined bodice. Hermione blushed, mumbling something while she ran a hand through her curls.

"Come again?"

"Your brother may or may not have said I look good in red…?"

Pregnant pause.

"Are you fucking me? And you wanna play like you and Draco are 'just friends'…'just friends' my ass…" Zara went on mumbling as she went back into her dressing room, deciding the multi-colored dress she currently had on wasn't it.

"So how's the music coming? Do you have enough participants?" Hermione said quickly, again trying to change the subject from her and Draco's not-really-a-relationship-but-definitely-more-than-a-friendship.

Shuffling and fabric moving could be heard as Zara changed dresses. "It's fine," Zara poked her head out of the room and looked at Hermione, who was still in the sequined dress and sitting on the pedestal in front of the mirror, "…and I'm still judging you, don't think this distracts me from your little stunt, missy." She pulled her head back in the dressing room and shut the door. "Pretty sure it's going to be a relatively smooth evening. Damien and I are going to handle piano, Blaise said he'd put together a strings quartet, and between you, Draco, Theo, and a few other students, we should be good on performances and the Board of Trustees can stay off Lucius's ass for another year."

"Wait, Draco's performing?" Hermione asked as Zara stepped out of the dressing room in a black ball gown; the bodice was velvet with long sleeves with a soft tulle skirt. "That's different from the others…it's quite beautiful on you, honestly."

"You think? Won't be too much to try to handle sitting at a piano? And yes, to answer your question, Draco's gonna do something. He needs to tell me what it's going to be so I have a chance to run through it once or twice."

"It should be fine," Hermione said, reaching out to touch the skirt, "it's a soft tulle, so you'll be able to easily move it. And it's not itchy?" Zara shook her head after moving around a bit so the skirt could move against her legs. "I really like this one, Zara. I think you found your dress, my dear."

Zara did a little fist pump in the air. "Okay, switch with me and go put on that last one in your room." The girls switched positions and Hermione went to try on her last dress. This was definitely a lot more dress than Zara initially had in mind, but it was a very soft tulle and was kind of fun to play with as she sat on the pedestal. "Hey, why'd you sound so surprised that Draco would be performing? He _is_ a vocal performance major….and the director's son."

"I know, I know," she said from behind the door, "I've just never heard him sing before, so…"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…you've _never_ heard him sing in the _entire_ time you've been at this school?"

There was a pause as Hermione shimmied into the fitted dress. "Not a peep."

Zara rolled her eyes again and swallowed the commentary she had about her half-brother as Hermione opened the door in her last pick; Zara would have a word with the annoying blond man who shared her DNA later that evening.

* * *

Draco was lazily singing through 'Angels We Have Heard On High' while folding laundry in his room when Zara walked in, Princeton hot on her heels.

"You," she said, sitting on an empty corner of his bed, "I need the music for whatever you're going to be doing for this weekend."

Draco, still singing, nodded and finished folding the shirt in his hand then went to his desk and grabbed the small binder containing sheet music. He passed it to Zara, who began flipping through the music, and he continued his original task. All the while, he's still singing; at one point, Princeton started "singing" with him, which made Draco only sing louder and more dramatically.

"You know what I find absolutely hilarious," Zara started, still flipping through the binder, "you're literally always singing or doing something musical with your vocal chords. You hum on the way to class, you sing in the shower…hell, you sing when you're taking a shit."

Draco continued singing and putting clothes away, but gave Zara a "was that really necessary?" slash "get to your point" look.

"I find it hilarious that Hermione hasn't heard a note out of you."

The note Draco was holding suddenly got caught in his throat and he started coughing to try to catch his breath. "Where the hell did you hear that?"

"She told me while we were buying our dresses for the gala. Said she's asked a number of times since Halloween, and you keep saying 'one day'. So what's the deal with that?"

Draco silently finished putting his clothes away, but Zara noted the slight pink color to his cheeks that wasn't there before. She hid the small smile that started to form on her face and started scratching behind Princeton's ears resulting in puppy kisses to her chin.

"I'll be in the family room practicing for about an hour or so if you want to come down," she said after a few seconds, standing and walking out of the door. "And…" she said as an afterthought, turning back to face him, "she listened to you, by the way."

"What do you mean?" he said, genuinely confused. He placed the last article of clothing in the drawer.

"She went with the red dress," she said softly, ushering Princeton out of the room with her.

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 **Thoughts? Reactions? Constructive criticisms? Let me know! As always, so appreciative of your favorites, follows, and reviews! Until next time, xoxo Nova Porter**

 **Also...here's a link to Zara's gown. Copy and paste it into your browser:**

 **pin / 468233692483299666 /**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13, guys and dolls!**

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Draco and Zara started attending SIPA's annual fundraising slash Yule celebration gala when they were around 14. Prior to learning about Lucius's infidelity and the chaos that followed, the two attended together for the sole purpose of having a friend there. At that time, the next youngest person to their 14 years was about 20 years old. The two would usually sit at one of the tables in the back with their food and soft drinks, speaking when spoken to but otherwise keeping to and entertaining themselves. Not exactly a riveting time for a 14 year old. As they got older and attending SIPA became more of a reality, they started to interact more with the guests and when they were sixteen, a few months before Zara's mom passed and everything went to hell in a hand basket, Lucius even let them perform together. That was more exciting, maybe, but still rather boring to the 16 year olds who would much rather be drinking and eating their weight in hot chocolate and cookies while watching classic Christmas movies. After the house of cards fell, both Zara and Draco contemplated no longer attending those things, but it wouldn't look too great for Lucius or the school if they didn't attend. So they smiled and mingled and put on a good face for the public despite the whispers and looks around them, and to be honest, the whole gala thing got more exciting as they got older (having more people there who are your own age helps…and drinking, drinking certainly helps too). But when there's that much tension underneath everything and you're doing everything possible to limit contact with someone for a solid few hours, well, there's only so much fun a person can have.

The affair was usually located at a nearby high-class hotel that had a very strong relationship with the school and its guests (except that one year Lucius thought it would be fun to "change it up a bit" and host it at the school. Never again.). Among this year's guests were students, faculty, and the deans from SIPA and other performing arts school through Europe, including Durmstrang School and Beauxbatons Academy, both single-sex institutions. Also in attendance was the Board of Trustee members for SIPA and their invited guests. That said, it was safe to say that the event was rather large and grand. The ballroom was decorated in off-white with accents of silver and emerald green throughout; round dinner tables framed a decent sized dance floor and performance space which was currently occupied by Blaise and the quartet he assembled playing a mixture of classical and holiday pieces while the guests enjoyed drinks and small hor dourves before the formal dinner. Two small bars were located on either side of the room, stocked with wines, beers, liquors, champagne, and a variety non-alcoholic drinks. Draco, looking quite dapper in his black tuxedo, was leaning against the wooden bar, checking his watch for what had to be the fifth time in ten minutes. He glanced at the door of the ballroom, where some guests were still arriving, and checked his watch again. He heard laughter and heels clicking his way and looked up to find Zara walking in his direction; he sneered at the smirk on her face.

"Go away."

"And miss watching you look like a cutely pathetic puppy? I don't think so," she said, patting him on the shoulder while she ordered two bourbons (always neat; watered down bourbon is never appealing) and slid one over to Draco. "If you didn't look so desperate, I'd say this is almost endearing."

Draco glared at Zara over the rim of his glass as he took a long sip, resulting in more laughter from the girl, which only made Draco glare harder at her. He fixed his mouth to make a snarky comment when Zara's black clutch purse started vibrating loudly before it started ringing an odd, magical-sounding tune she had found in the app store one night.

"You should probably silence that before it goes off during someone's set," Draco said as Zara extracted her phone from her bag.

"Hello Hermione dear," Zara answered the call, "your boyfriend keeps looking at the door longingly so if you could hurry your pretty self….mmhmm…I'm sure it's fine and you're just overrea-okay, okay, okay, I'm coming up. Calm your tits, I'm coming up." Zara ended the call, rolling her eyes and mumbling something about "bloody perfectionist", and downed her drink in one go, barely wincing as the strong, brown liquid went down her throat. She didn't realize Draco had been staring at her waiting for an explanation until he all but gently nudged her arm as she put her phone back in her purse.

"What?"

"So you're not going to tell me what's going on?"

Zara rolled her eyes again; it was amazing her eyeballs weren't stuck facing the back of her head as much as she rolled them concerning her DNA-sharer. "Hermione's having a hair emergency. Her and Harry just got here, so I'm going to send him down here and you two are going to play nice until we get back." Before Draco could contest, Zara walked past him and out the doors of the ballroom. She found Harry standing in the hallway near the ladies' room and after giving him a chaste kiss to say hello (and, subsequently, wiping her dark red cream lipstick off of his lips with her thumb), sent him on his way to find Draco while she went into the bathroom to assess the so-called crisis. Hermione was facing the mirror, running her hands over her now somewhat-straightened hair, wearing an off the shoulder, red, satin gown that seemed to have been made exclusively for her body seeing as it fit so well. Hermione was fretting so much over her hair that it took a few seconds to register that Zara was standing next to her checking her own reflection in the wall-length mirror.

"I hate you. You look fabulous and your hair is cooperating," were the first words she said, before tugging again at a frizzing strand.

"My hair is tucked into submission with bobby pins, frizz serum, edge control, and prayer," Zara replied, double-checking a few of the pins that held the braided crown style in place. "I can tell you right now, though, that keeping your hands in your hair like that is going to have the opposite effect of what you want."

Hermione whined slightly and pulled one more time before dropping her hands with frustrated sigh. It wasn't so much that her hair looked bad; it was definitely straighter than usual and the side part complimented the dress's sultry air. The problem was it didn't get as straight as Hermione had wanted, and the heat in her car caused her scalp to start sweating so it was even fluffier than it was when she left home.

"If there were a time for magic to exist in the world, now would be it…" she mumbled readjusting the gold clip holding part of her hair up.

"I have a flat iron upstairs that's like a magic wand, if that counts," Zara offered, linking arms with Hermione and taking her upstairs to the room she booked for the evening. Meanwhile, Draco was silently cursing Zara for putting him in charge of her little boyfriend. It was obvious the boy was trying to make a good impression to Zara's "twin brother", but frankly Draco didn't care that much. Though, if Draco _had_ to give his opinion on the bloke, it was obvious that he was relatively smart and goal-oriented, and it was apparent that he cared a lot about Zara. So if you were to put a gun to his head, Draco would tell you he approved; since you didn't, he was going to continue to act like he didn't care. Because, remember, he didn't. The conversation was about to take a turn to his and Hermione's not-really-a-relationship-but-relationship when Draco's father approached the two boys, asking Draco if he'd seen his sister.

 _Perfect timing, Dad._ "She went to go help Hermione with something. Actually, Dad, this is Harry Potter, Hermione's best friend and Godric classmate…. and Zara's boyfriend," he added under his breath. He feigned innocence as Harry shot him a "are-you-fucking-me" look. Lucius simply raised a pale eyebrow at the dark-haired boy, and Harry quickly became more than uncomfortable standing in between the Malfoy men.

"Boyfriend, you say?" The elder Malfoy asked, putting his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo pants, "well, naturally, I trust you're doing right by my daughter…"

"Why, hello, gentlemen. Lovely evening we're having, isn't it?" Zara interrupted in a rush, linking her arm with Harry's and tucking herself into his side. She and Hermione had successfully averted the hair crisis with the magic flat iron, and had walked back into the ballroom right as guests were starting to be seated for dinner. There was a brief moment of panic mixed with intense irritation when Zara say her grey-eyed counterparts, mainly the older one, standing with and talking to Harry, and it took Hermione gripping her arm and walking slowly with her over to them to keep Zara from speaking before thinking. "Stop panicking," Hermione had whispered while they walked over, "And don't lie to me and tell you're not because it's all in your face." Hermione was truly a God-sent, and Zara sent her an appreciative nod as the other girl stood a few steps behind style. Zara then turned back to Lucius, her gaze taking on a colder 'please-try-me-tonight-I-dare-you' gaze.

"I think I overheard you saying you were looking for me, Lucius?" Zara asked in the kindest voice she could muster. Harry quirked an eyebrow, finding it odd that she would refer to her father by his first name, but remained quiet and gently rubbed the small of her back for comfort.

"Ah yes, yes, yes," the elder Malfoy said, reaching out to touch Zara's shoulder. Zara stepped back slightly. "Well, for one, dinner was about to start and I hadn't seen you around. Secondly, I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed for your set, you and those you're playing for."

"Unless my binder's been moved from the piano, I'm good to go."

"Excellent. Well, you look lovely, my dear…as do you, Ms. Granger," he said over Zara's shoulder to Hermione, who was sipping champagne behind the group. She startled slightly since she was mid-sip and not expecting to be spoken to. "I'm looking forward to hearing you tonight. Enjoy the rest of your evening, you all," he said with a slightly wave before returning to his table. Harry placed a kiss to Zara's temple when he heard her exhale deeply next to him.

"Harry, my father," Zara said almost sarcastically, "and, naturally, we'll be sitting at the family table so you'll have ample opportunity to talk more throughout the evening."

"Lovely. Do you suppose we should walk away and give them some space?" Harry said back, nodding his head towards Draco and Hermione who were now standing rather close to each other and muttering softly; there was a playful, flirtatious smile on Hermione's lip while her arm rested over his which was wrapped around her waist.

Zara cocked her head to the side and rested her weight on her hip dramatically. "Mmmm…do we have to? I kind of like teasing them, which **_of course_** shouldn't **_bother_ ** them since they're **_not a couple_** …"

Hermione almost spit her champagne out from laughing while Harry led Zara away from the bar and Draco exhaled loudly as his head dropped to Hermione's shoulder, though a small smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.

* * *

 **Things are still happy at SIPA, for now... _for now_. As always, your reviews are welcomed and helpful! Until next update (which might take a little longer to post; don't leave me though!), xoxo Nova Porter**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so appreciative of your patience with the updates, y'all. I had an** **initial goal of knocking out the next two crucial chapters before Thanksgiving, but life happened so that plan had to be changed. Regardless, I hope you enjoy Chapter 14 :)**

 **Disclaimer: I wish I could say that I own all HP-related things mentioned in this fic, but I definitely don't. My name's not JK Rowling, and my wallet can prove it. xp**

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Surprisingly, dinner went on without a hitch. Well, excluding that time Hermione all but wrestled a large slice of chocolate cake from Draco because he definitely still had to sing and, Singer's Rulebook 101: no large slice of chocolate cake before singing. Draco very literally whined when the plate was pulled from his hand and looked deeply wounded and almost murderous when Zara took the plate from her Hermione and dug into it immediately; she even did a little dance after the first bite because she was _just that_ _ **evil**_.

"There's nothing _amusing_ about losing cake, Granger," he pouted under his breath while the lady in the red dress seated next to him finally lost the battle against her giggles, snorting as the laughter took over her being. If Draco weren't so pissed about losing his slice of cake, he would've thought it was adorable. Zara ended up splitting the slice of cake with Harry, not because she couldn't finish it by herself but because it was her turn at piano. She started by playing a medley of classic carols with some improvisations that acted as transitions from carol to carol. As she played, Zara looked out at the crowd of people in attendance; most people were finishing up their meals, a few were refreshing their drinks at the bar, and others took to the dance floor in pairs to sway to the live music. Lucius was standing amongst trustee members, looking every bit of a proud papa as he talked, smiled, and laughed with the others in his circle and it made Zara incredibly uncomfortable. Her gaze floated to a corner near the bar where Severus stood in all black and what looked like a long robe of some sort ( _"So dramatic, Uncle Sevvy" she thought_ ), nursing a tumbler of what looked like brandy; he looked paler than usual but Zara related it to the all-black ensemble. Harry, Hermione, and Draco had wandered near the stage; Draco's hand rest on the small of Hermione's back as she leaned slightly into his side while she laughed at something Harry was saying. Draco was trying his damnedest to look uninterested but a chuckle escaped his lips too. She finished playing the medley, and as the crowd politely applauded, Zara thought she caught a glimpse of a familiar face in a white gown but whoever the person was disappeared just as quickly. She bowed her head politely to the crowd, as Lucius made his way to the stage to say a few words.

"Can we have another of applause for my lovely daughter, ladies and gentlemen?" He said, positively beaming. Zara again offered a polite smile and head nod to the applause, but otherwise kept her posture at the piano with her hands folded her lap. "Yes, yes! As a parent, it always a pleasure to see your child excel in their craft." There was a murmur of agreement amongst other parents in the crowd; Zara had to consciously remind herself that she was on stage in full view of people to keep from rolling her eyes. That Lucius was a bold one, he was. "Firstly, I want to extend holiday greetings to everyone present. I hope that you all have been enjoying your evening. I'd, of course, like to recognize our Board of Trustees," more polite applause, "without you all making sure everything is in order, we wouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful music the students have performed for us tonight. Which brings me to these next two performers, as they are very dear to my heart. And, of course, I'm biased because they're my children." More polite laughter. "That said, it's an honor and privilege to present my son, Mr. Draco Malfoy, accompanied on piano by my daughter who you've already heard, Ms. Zara Malfoy."

Draco didn't have to look at Zara to know she was probably doing literally everything in her power to keep a pleasant face in light of his father's error on her last name. Right as he moved to start walking on stage, Hermione gently but firmly grabbed his face and placed a kiss to his cheek, leaving behind a very noticeable red lip stain on his pale skin. He turned to look at her smiling face and lovingly pinched her cheek before walking on stage. Before stepping up to the microphone stand, Draco walked up behind Zara and placed a soothing hand on her back.

"You okay?"

Zara inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth twice before responding. "Let's just get through this, please."

Draco nodded, briefly placing a kiss to the back of her head which resulted in her swatting him away with a chuckling "don't mess up my braid, go away!" so the first thing he said stepping to the microphone was, "I try to be nice to her and she pushes me away because of her hair. Sisters, I tell you."

The audience laughed while Zara playfully mocked him from her place at the piano. "But seriously, one more time for Ms. Taylor-Malfoy, ladies and gentlemen. Isn't she lovely tonight? Come, take a proper bow!" He extended his hand to her, which she took, with a knowing smirking directed at him, and bowed; Harry whistled and Hermione cheered loudly from their place near the stage. Zara knew Draco understood why she was so angry with Lucius misspeaking her last name, so despite her discomfort of having more attention drawn to her, she was very touched by his gesture. But because he put all that attention on her, it was only right that she return the favor.

"Oh my, dear brother, what is this right here?" she asked sweetly, poking his lipstick-stained cheek with her finger.

"Don't smudge it! It's a good luck charm from the missus! Ladies and gentlemen, please, my lovely girlfriend Hermione Granger!" he said confidently, directing everyone's attention to the girl in red, who's skin was now almost the color of her gown as the crowd cheered and aww'd at his declaration.

"But seriously, this is special. The last time Zara and I performed at this gala was maybe four…four to five years ago?" He looked at her to confirm as she made her way back to the piano. She nodded. "Both Zara and I have had some adjustments to make in the past few years, and I imagine that we'll continue to have adjustments to make as the years go on. But the one thing that's always seemed to be consistent with us was our love and passion for music, so being able to share the stage with her tonight is truly a gift."

Zara was very proud of her makeup work that evening, so she kept blinking to keep from crying. "Okay, okay, enough of that. Let's keep this moving, shall we?"

"Fine, fine. So impatient…"

Zara shook her head with an eye roll and a smile, and began playing the opening measures to the song. Typically, "Bells of New York City" is performed with an orchestra and accented with bell chimes; this time, it was just Zara's piano playing. It was different, but if you closed you eyes, you could still picture walking down the streets of New York during the holidays as it lightly snows while the lights twinkles. In fact, while Zara played, Draco stood with his hands in his pockets, head bowed and eyes closed, allowing the mental picture to take over his mind. When he heard his cue, he lifted his head.

 _There's a pale winter moon in the sky coming through my window_

 _And the park is laid out like a bed below_

 _It's a cold, dark night and my heart melts like the snow_

 _And the bells of New York City tell me not to go_

 _It's always this time of year that my thoughts undo me_

 _With the ghosts of many lifetimes all abound_

 _But from these mad heights I can always hear the sound_

 _Of the bells of New York City singing all around_

 _Stay with me, stay with me_

 _Refuge from these broken dreams_

 _Wait right here oh wait with me_

 _On silent snow filled streets_

 _Sing to me one song for joy and one for redemption_

 _And whatever is in between that I call mine_

 _With the street lamp light to illuminate the gray_

 _And the bells of New York City calling me to stay_

 _The bells of New York City calling me to stay_

Zara improvised a melodic run to the end of the song, and punctuated it with three bell-like chords. As per protocol, Draco took his bow, gestured towards Zara who stood and took her bow before taking her brother's outstretched hand for their final bow together. For the first time in a long time, both Malfoy children felt like they were in sync. They caught sight of Hermione and Harry, Hermione all but beaming and Harry puffed with admiration, and Lucius looking every bit of a proud father…well, Draco looked at Lucius. Zara opted to turn her attention to the opposite side of the room, where she saw the same white gown she'd caught glimpses of throughout the evening and, more importantly, its wearer, who caused Zara's eyes widen, her blood pressure to spike, and her body to go slightly rigged. Draco turned his head when he felt Zara squeeze his hand and followed her line of sight, muttering a hissed _'shit'_ under his breath when he saw his mother sitting at a table farthest from the crowd, taking a sip from her flute of champagne with her eyes locked with Zara's over the rim of her glass. He squeezed Zara's hand back.

'Shit. Shit. _Shit_.'

* * *

 **A little shorter than initially planned, but you gotta** **love a good curveball :D. Chapter 15 will be posted before Christmas. Until next time, xoxo Nova Porter**

 **Song: 'Bells of New York City' x Josh Groban**


	15. Chapter 15

**There aren't enough ways to say "I'm sorry" for taking so long to update this story. The past few months have been interesting, to say the least, and 'Next chapter will be posted by Christmas' turned into 'a week before Valentine's Day'. I feel horrible. I hope you** **lovely readers have it in your hearts to forgive me and my delay.**

 **Please enjoy the next chapter xo**

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy was never the doting wife. That's not the example she got from watching her parents' marriage. Marriage was about money, status; a business deal, if you will. Her marriage to Lucius was one of convenience and arrangement more than one of love, and while they played the part of "the perfect couple" well, both knew the honest truth of their scenario. Lucius, ever the romantic, wanted to believe that the two would learn to love each other as the years went by, but Narcissa knew she could never be the wife that he wanted. That's part of the reason why it didn't bother her so much when he started sleeping with his accompanist. It almost amused her how offended people were by his infidelity; no, it wasn't her _first_ choice for how her marriage would go, but she did care for Lucius and he deserved to have the loving, doting attention he craved.

Similarly, Narcissa never had a longing to experience motherhood. When she was expecting Draco, she fully intended to hire a full-time nanny and child-care staff to take care of the child. And she did have a nanny help with most of the child rearing, but she became more involved than anticipated, attending recitals and school functions and scheduling play dates with other mothers. She especially loved watching Lucius with his son. For the first time in their marriage, Narcissa felt a loving connection to Lucius and she supposed this was what marriage was supposed to be like. This was why it was so odd that she felt so betrayed when she learned about Zara's parentage. The small biracial child with Malfoy grey eyes brought on the chilling realization that Narcissa actually _wanted_ the fairytale of marrying the love of your life and having a family together. Of course, none of this was Zara's fault, as she didn't ask to be born, but her presence was a constant reminder to Narcissa of what she never knew she wanted- and now, something she would never have. Initially, Narcissa intended to leave immediately after Draco's performance, not knowing Zara would accompany him, but watching Zara and Draco perform together at the gala, Draco a spitting image of his father and Zara a mirror image of her mother, brought up those complicated feelings that had been buried under the surface for years and literally rooted her to the ground. She had just regained her footing when she locked eyes with Zara, followed by her son.

Zara all but ran off the stage, past Hermione and Harry who were waiting to embrace them on a job well done, out of the ballroom into the nearby hallway. She paced back and forth, fussing with the tulle of her skirt and muttering interesting combinations of curse words under her breath. She heard the door of the ballroom open, but didn't look up from her pacing to see who it was. Two hands grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop walking and look up.

"You need…to calm…down," Draco said, shaking her shoulders slightly at each break in his sentence.

"You try calming down when Satan herself is looking you in the face," Zara said back through clenched teeth, yanking herself from his grasp and continuing her pacing.

Draco took a deep breath before replying. "If you could refrain yourself from calling my mother Satan, it'd be much appreciated."

"What the bloody fuck is she even doing here?" Zara continued, Draco's words going completely over her head, "They're fucking divorced, she probably had a nice champagne toast to that, the bloody witch, and she's off with what's-his-face…"

"I'm off with who, dear?" Narcissa calmly walked up to the pair, champagne glass still delicately perched in her fingers. Draco instinctively stepped in between the two women before either could get any ideas.

"Not now, Mother."

"Draco, if the girl has something to say, she should feel comfortable enough to share it. After all, we all were family for a number of years."

"Family? As if you know the meaning…" Zara said forcefully, taking a step towards the other woman only to be blocked by Draco's arm. At this point, Lucius was walking towards them, a deep frown marring his features, followed by Severus.

"What is going on out here?" Lucius said in a low voice, making eye contact with his children and ex-wife.

"Ask Satan," Zara muttered angrily, crossing her arms with an eye roll when Draco chastised her with a harsh _"Zara!"_ whisper. Mimicking his son's earlier action without intention, Lucius took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, before replying.

"Is there any possible way we can all pull ourselves together for a few more hours and postpone this looming conversation until after the gala is over?"

Draco glanced over to Zara, who's grey eyes had darkened with anger, and went to touch her gently on the arm but Zara swatted his hand away with a frustrated huff, walking away from the group back towards the ballroom. He growled under his breath and went to follow, but paused when Severus put a hand on his shoulder and swiftly walked passed him, catching up to Zara with ease.

"Ms. Taylor-Malfoy," he said in his usual drawl, falling easily into step with the girl, "I know you're upset," Zara snorted in a rather unladylike fashion but Severus continued as if she hadn't made a sound, "but it'd behoove you to use this time to _think_ about what you want to say _before_ you address them."

Zara had her hand on the handle to the ballroom door when she finally, consciously took a breath; she could hear Hermione in the middle of her aria so she assumed the previous pianist took over after the Malfoy family made their impromptu exit. "Uncle Severus," she said slowly, "I know you mean well, and I know that you've taken your role as my godfather seriously and do your best to keep everyone level-headed about this. But if we're being honest, and you know this to be true, she's never going to accept me. I came in a ruined her perfect little family and her perfect little life, and I'm always gonna be the "mulatto brat" that Lucius and Draco feel obligated to. So I'd greatly appreciate it if we could skip the "feel better" speech, and you just let me enjoy the rest of my night and fake like everything is fine."

She walked back into the ballroom, and silently linked her arm with Harry's as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He glanced down, sensing something was wrong, but opted to kiss her gently on her temple as they stood listening to the end of Hermione's aria. They applauded with the rest of the room as Hermione took her bow and took Draco's offered hand (he must have slid back into the room after Zara; truthfully, she had zoned out to everything except Hermione after she had reentered) to help her down the stairs. After approximately another hour of dancing, performances, and schmoozing, their guests departed for the evening, leaving Severus, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Zara, Harry, Hermione, and the weight of the looming emotional conversation to be had. Harry and Hermione sat at a table near the door and did their "best" not to eavesdrop on the Malfoy family and Severus.

"…this wouldn't such a deal if she hadn't overreacted," Narcissa finished her sentence, sitting primly in the closest chair. Zara glared at the older woman from where she stood, her arms folded tightly over her chest.

"Overreacted? I wouldn't have to react at all if you were gone…"

" _Zara_ ," Lucius warned before turning to his ex-wife, "She makes a point, though. Why _are_ you here, Cissa?"

"I wanted to see my son perform. I may not be your wife anymore, Lucius, but I'm still Draco's mother." Narcissa's eyes snapped to Zara who snorted after her comment. "It's rude to snort, dear."

"I'm not your _dear_ …"

"You could have let me know you were coming, at least," Lucius continued speaking over Zara, "I would hope you know I'd never keep you from Draco."

"I never thought you would step out on our marriage either, and yet," she opened her arms, gesturing the group of people, "here we are."

Lucius had some decency to look ashamed and his neck turned a slight shade of red. "I'm sure you and I could both agree that what we had was hardly a marriage…"

"And I'm sure you both can work through this and find closure in therapy," Zara interrupted, "but for now I'd really appreciate it if she left and the rest of us go back to pretending this 'family' is normal."

Draco, who had been quiet until this point, snorted loudly from where he sat. "You all are a fucking joke."

Narcissa gasped audibly- _"Language, Draco!"_ -as heads turned to the younger Malfoy male who was sitting furthest away from everyone looking out a nearby window with his arms crossed over his chest. Severus simply raised an eyebrow, while Lucius stepped forward towards his son. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said you all are a fucking joke," Draco repeated, leaning back in his chair and turning his head to face everyone. "There's nothing _normal_ about this. At all. Mum, Dad, I love you both dearly, but you made a fucking mess out of this."

No one spoke for a few tense moments before Narcissa went over to where Draco sat and wrapped her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Oh, Draco, darling I can't begin to imagine…"

"You're right, you can't," he said, his chair scratching the floor as he stood to remove himself from his mother's embrace. The truth is what kept Draco silent concerning this whole divorce thing was distracting himself and purposefully not entertaining any thoughts about it. He hadn't meant for that snort and comment to slip out, but when it did, it brought with it the rest of the floodwaters. "Mother, you may have been present physically, but I truly don't remember a time you actually _spent time_ with me…you weren't _anywhere_! Not even a fucking piano lesson…the only time you really interacted with me as your son was at nights like this where we _had_ to put on a happy face! You weren't attentive to me, I don't have a single memory of you and Dad ever being affectionate toward each other…it's no wonder the man wandered off!..."

"I think that's enough, Draco," Lucius started in an authoritative tone, stepping forward to place a hand on his son's shoulder. Draco turned to him, forcing his hand to fall.

"No. Everyone's had their chance to speak; now it's my turn. If you had kept your thing in your pants, none of this would've happened. Things were horrible, I get it, but that's what therapy is for! That's why you get the fucking divorce _before_ you decide to go sleep with the next pretty thing on legs and fuck up your family's life!"

"Woooow…thanks, Draco. It's not like that's my mother you're talking about," Zara commented under her breath.

"I'm sorry, did you have something to say?" Draco said, rounding on the girl.

Zara sighed and unfolded her arms. "Draco, I'm not trying to fight with you right now…"

"And you _honestly_ think you're the only one affected by all of this," Draco started walking towards her, continuing to speak as if she hadn't said a word.

"You're putting words in my mouth…"

"Despite being the newest edition to the chaos, you function under the impression that you're the biggest victim and sufferer completely disregarding what anyone else may feel or think…"

"You've got to be bloody kidding me! Is that what you really think?.."

"…you've been rude, crass, difficult but not willing to open up to anyone…"

"That's not fair Draco, I've tried talking to you but you were never there…"

"…entirely inappropriate in your commentary and timing…"

"…might have been poor timing, but I've only wanted to help you…"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR BLOODY HELP! I DIDN'T ASK FOR IT; THE SAME WAY I DIDN'T ASK TO GET BLOODY STUCK WITH YOU!"

If Draco could swallow his tongue in that moment, he would have gladly and willingly in the half second it took for his brain to catch up with his mouth. He hadn't realize how loud he had gotten or how close to Zara he had gotten during their back and forth, but from this close he could see the small specks of green and hazel in her eyes…and the lone tear making a path down her nose. Suddenly feeling like his legs had turned to jelly, Draco took a step back, slowly becoming aware of the other people in the space.

"Zara…" he faltered, "Zara, I'm so-"

"Well, it's a good thing you're planning for The States after graduation, isn't it?" Zara said with a slight chuckle, though her eyes blazed with all the hurt and anger she was feeling. With all the grace and poise of a Malfoy woman, Zara lifted the skirt of her gown and walked out of the ballroom, her heels echoing around the room with each step. Draco flipped the closest chair to him immediately after the door closed and left the room a few seconds after the highly pissed-off girl. Narcissa moved to go after him, but a hand on the shoulder from Severus told her not to. Harry and Hermione, who's presence was clearly forgotten, sent each other worried glances before attempting to silently slip from their chairs. It almost worked until Hermione's dress got caught under the leg of a chair; when she stood, the chair toppled to the floor bringing all of the attention on them. Hermione tried to stammer out a response, but Narcissa's cold glare at the two made it rather difficult.

"So…" Harry said awkwardly, helping Hermione untangle from the chair, "Lovely evening. We greatly appreciate the invitation. Right…um…well, good night then."

* * *

 **We're going to put some speed on this story; I wasn't expecting it to be as long as it's gotten. The goal is to round it up within the next 3-5 chapters (5 more is the absolute cap). TBH, I struggled aye-lot with this chapter but I'm hoping you enjoy the final result. Next chapter is half-done, and the rest of the story has already complete in the old noggin. Just gotta get it out on paper.**

 **Until next time, lovelies, xoxo Nova Porter**


	16. Chapter 16

**Between three part-time jobs, an on-line class, and the attempt of having a social life/being a 20-something year old...I have finally posted the next chapter. Disclaimer: If I were JK Rowling, and these characters were mine (well, Zara's mine...not the point...), I wouldn't be working three jobs.**

 **'Preciate you all; thanks for your patience.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 16 xx**

* * *

Draco's lungs burned as he ran to try to catch up with Zara and Princeton again, his breath coming out in puffs against the cold air. It had been almost a full month since his emotionally charged outburst and the first week was worse than hell. Hermione had said to give her some space- "Draco, you really hurt her feelings. She still loves you, but she's going to need some time. Give her about a week or so."- but this was all before Zara made it damn near impossible for him to even get near her. The first time was in the kitchen one morning as she sat at the table with her morning espresso, looking over some sheet music. He grabbed an apple and no sooner had his butt grazed the seat of the wooden chair Zara had slipped out of her seat, coffee mug and sheet music in hand, and left the kitchen without acknowledging his presence. The second time she had been talking with Blaise and excused herself the moment he had joined their conversation. The most recent time was an outlier in that they were rehearsing music for Draco's vocal hearing, so they kind of had to speak to each other. Afterwards, Draco rambled out an attempt to start conversation while putting his materials back in his bag only to find that he was talking to an empty room as Zara had left all but immediately after they ended. Now, he was in his winter running gear, speeding up for the third time in an attempt to catch up with his sister and her running companion. Hermione was absolutely brilliant, no doubt about it, but Draco couldn't wait for Zara to come to him any more. He had to talk with her.

He had managed to barely catch up with her. "Hey Zar, I think we nee-"

"Can you quit it?" Zara stopped abruptly and turned look Draco in the eye for the first time in the past month. The coldness in her eyes was on an equal level with the coldness in the air. "I literally cannot run any faster."

She took off again, this time Draco staying behind. Next time he saw Hermione, he'd have to kindly correct her: Zara wasn't hurt. She was furious and, more importantly, heartbroken.

* * *

 _Ooh, I be comin', put the hinges in their hands_

 _Countin' Benjis while we meetin', make 'em shake my other hand  
Milly rockin', scoopin' all the blessings on my lap  
Bitch I know you tried to cheat, you shoulda never took a nap  
Fuck wrong with you? What you was thinkin'?  
Fuck you thought it was?  
You talk that talk, that n*gga lame, that n*gga fall in love  
Not me, though, bitch you can keep those  
Boy I'm at your head like Craig did Deebo  
Don't tweak, bro, it's never sweet, ho  
My shooters come for free, so_

 _If one more label try to stop me  
It's gon' be some dreadhead n*ggas in ya lobby_

 _You don't want no problem, want no problem with me_

Steam came pouring out when Harry opened the bathroom door, a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. He threw the hand-towel he was using to dry his hair on the floor next to the nightstand, where his glasses had been placed. Because his eyesight was really quite awful, he could only make out Zara's silhouette dancing around the room without the lenses but once on, Harry could easily make out the details of his girlfriend's sporty dark red bra and thong set. She hadn't noticed him yet as she was too busy dancing around the room, so Harry just sat on the bed and watched her look the happiest and most carefree she had since the gala. She had washed her hair the night before (a rather extensive process that included tools and products beyond Harry's 10-minute shampoo and condition in the shower routine) so instead of her usual bone straight locks, her hair was in its natural state of springy curls that seemed to dance with her every time she moved her head.

"I love your hair like this," Harry said, his voice still low from sleep, making his presence known. Zara continued to dance and sing as she turned towards him. She smiled mischievously before slowly crawling up the bed towards him. She straddled his towel-clad lap when she reached him and initiated a slow, tantalizing kiss as the song ended and the next track from the album played, a laid-back and sexy song that fueled the already heated snog session between the two. About fifteen minutes and one and a half orgasms later, Zara was shimmying back into her panties and into a pair of black leggings.

"Really, love, why don't you wear your hair like this more? It's more…I don't know, more…you," Harry said, his lower body covered by the thin bed sheet.

"Anything to keep the stares and questions to a minimum, dear," Zara said, her voice only slightly muffled as she pulled her black t-shirt over her head. She caught her boyfriend's confused look when she turned briefly to sit on the edge of the bed as she put on her boots. "I used to wear my hair like this all the time. After the whole bit with me moving in with the Malfoy's, the stares and whispers started to get to me; how much darker I was, how big my hair was…and then _that_ witch just loved digging the knife in deeper…" she grunted as she struggled slightly to pull her right boot onto her foot, the cheeky devil, "I can't change my skin color, but I can change my hair."

Harry thought about what she said while she got up and made her way to the bathroom to double check her makeup and hair after their impromptu romp. "So…are you saying you'd change your skin color if you could?"

" _Fuck_ no," Zara said before Harry even finished his sentence, "Absolutely not; this melanin is too damn beautiful for that." She stepped out of the bathroom, make-up fixed and hair pulled back in a makeshift ponytail. "I'm just saying sometimes it's easier to blend in than it is to stand out." She planted a sound kiss on Harry's lips as she grabbed her burgundy sweater and book bag at the foot of the bed. Throwing a "text you later" over her shoulder, Zara left the apartment, hopped in her car, and headed to her favorite book café to prepare for her upcoming jury before her final showcase. Her productivity lasted for about a solid 43 minutes when she accidentally stumbled on an old photo of her and Draco and waves of emotions hit her all at once; before she realized what she was doing, she was scrolling through old photos saved on her laptop from when they were younger. Try as she might to act like everything was fine, this mess between her and her brother was brutally painful and damn her pride and ego for making it so difficult to speak to him (or hit him…probably hit him first, then speak to him.) A shaggy, ginger-haired man gently tapping the area next to her laptop pulled her out of her unplanned trip down memory lane.

"I'm sorry, what now..?" she said, shaking her head slightly to pull her mind back to the present.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt you…you just look really familiar to me," the red-haired man said adjusting the shoulder strap on his bag. Zara did a once over of the man… gray sweater, jeans, brown shoes…nothing about him really stood out to her. The hair, however…

"You have a sister, don't you? Friend of Hermione Granger?"

A look of realization took over his face as he nodded. "That's right…do you mind if I sit?" He took the chair across from her before she had a chance to respond; naturally, it was only a minor annoyance to Zara. "You go to that arts school she's at for a year. Sara, right?"

" _Zara_ , actually," she said, already annoyed with Hermione Granger's friend's brother, "Remind me of your name again?"

"Oh, Ron. Ron Weasely. Great to see you again, how's everything been?"

Zara raised an eyebrow at Ron Weasely. "You've made yourself quite comfortable, haven't you?"

He shrugged with a chuckle and relaxed more in his seat. "I mean, our lives are rather intertwined, don't you think? You're dating one of my best friends. Your brother-"

" _Half_ -brother."

"-is dating my other best friend. You're friends with her. Essentially we're bound to friendship."

"Or I could find you and your overt friendliness quite obnoxious," Zara added, taking a sip of her now-lukewarm coffee. She grimaced.

"Eh," Ron was completely unfazed by her commentary, "really, though, how've you been? I always hear about you and how you're doing but now I have an opportunity to ask you in person."

Zara opened her mouth to respond just as her phone started to ring, Draco's name flashing across the screen. After staring at it for half a second too long causing Ron to notice the name as well, she pressed the red button on the screen to ignore the call.

"Ahh yes, the joy of siblings," Ron sighed, "I know it well."

"It's just you and your sister, too?"

"My younger sister and five older brothers, which includes a set of identical twins," he chuckled as he saw her eyes go wide, "I'll go get you a refill. My treat. What were you drinking?" Zara managed to get out her usual drink order and as Ron was at the register, her phone rang again and Draco's name appeared on the screen. She once again ignored the call and placed her phone screen down on the table just as Ron returned with the refreshed beverages and add-ins.

"Wasn't sure how you liked your coffee so I just brought every-" He stopped midsentence as he watched Zara take three rather large gulps of fresh, hot coffee, wincing when she finally put the cup down. "…or you can drink it like that, I suppose."

Zara let out a few ragged breaths, still trying to recover from the burn. "Whiskey would be lovely, but alas I will settle for caffeine. Dammit…" her phone rang again and, seeing that it was again Draco, she not only ignored the call but also put her phone on silent.

"Are you sure you shouldn't check to make sure he's okay?.."

"He'll live," Zara said hastily, taking another less abrasive sip of coffee, "let's get back to this whole Brady Bunch family of yours..."

Ron chuckled. "Trust me, it's not all rainbows and sunshine. We've had our issues…actually, my brother Percy's decided to estrange himself from the family for a while…"

"I'm sorry to hear that.."

Ron raised a hand and shook his head as he took a sip from his own drink. "No, no, don't be. Through a rather unfortunate event with one of the twins, he made his way back. Everyone's okay now, though," he added, noticing Zara's confused face, "Fred's better and our family is…working through it."

Zara played with the rim of her cup, pointedly ignoring her phone light up again, this time the name 'Lucius' appearing across the screen. "Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

"With Percy? He was just a pretentious dick for a while when I was growing up. Ended up taking a job he deemed worthy and snuffed his nose at the rest of us "peasants." He was gone for about four years- any letter, package, anything mum sent him came back 'return to sender'- then about two years ago, Fred ended up getting critical injured and doctors were saying we need to "make arrangements". Our mum tried one last time to reach out to Percy, and he actually came. Like I said, Fred's doing loads better now and we've all gone through counseling and such."

"Shit…" For a minute, Zara's family situation seemed a little less bleak. Especially considering, she realized with a very foul taste in her mouth, that she was sounding like the Percy of it all. "What made him come back?"

Ron shrugged. "Titles meant shit compared to the possibility of losing his brother."

"And you all forgave him just like that?"

"You heard me mention counseling, right?" Ron laughed and Zara couldn't help but chuckle with him. "I mean… that's family. If anyone can grate your nerves, it's family. But when shit hits the fans, who's going to be the first to be there for you?"

Zara took a slow sip of coffee and worried her teeth on the edge of the coffee cup. They sat in a few minutes of comfortable silence- well, comfortable for Ron and full of uncomfortable reflection for Zara- when Ron cleared his throat.

"So, I don't mean to be nosy, but your phone's been flashing this whole time with either 'Draco' or 'Lucius' on the screen. Once or twice, I think I saw Hermione's name. Whatever it is, it seems really important."

Sure enough, there were more than a few missed calls and texts from either Malfoy and a call and text from Hermione. As Zara went to return one of Draco's calls, her phone lit up again with his name across the screen.

"Hey," she answered, a little more roughly than she intended but oh well, we're here now, "what's your deal-"

"Severus was just rushed to the hospital."

* * *

 **No promises on when Chapter 17 will be posted (not because it won't be, but because I don't want to sell dreams out here), but it will. And soon, our story will be nearing its end. Reviews continue to make me happy (hint hint nudge nudge). Until next chapter, xoxo Nova**


	17. RECORD SCRATCH

Hey everyone...

So I'm putting a hold on the story. The more I wrote, the more I didn't like it and the more bored I got with it. I've been working on trying to re-write it (because the whole story is in my head and wants to get out) but with studying for my licensing exam and taking care of other things professionally and personally, it's been a slow process. So...here we are. Hoping to be able to produce a few (unrelated to this story) one-shots or two-shots occasionally just to keep the writing flow going but we will see. Much appreciation for your patience; doesn't go unnoticed.

Until next time.

xoxo, Nova Porter


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